[0:00] This is the evening service at Holy Trinity on the 28th of December 2003 The preacher is Dave Brown His sermon is entitled New Year's Resolutions and is based on Psalm 51 It would be great if you could keep that open to follow the psalm It would help you a lot Last week a confidential file was secretly leaked to the Herald Sun It was a very important file for all Melburnians It contained the New Year's Resolutions of the Hawthorne Football Club There were four New Year's Resolutions for the Hawthorne Football Club Number one, hardness at the man Relentless attack on the opposition
[1:00] Number two, size The players needed to build up their strength to implement that aggression Number three, simplicity Less handball, kick it straight down the guts Four, talent, work on your skills And there you have it Hawthorne's New Year's Resolutions Their New Year's Recipe for Success in 2004 They're going to be harder, bigger, simpler If that's possible for footballers And talented Hawthorne have reflected on the past They've been crushed and they've realised that they need to rebuild They've fallen from a great height And they want to be restored And in essence that's why most people make New Year's Resolutions I think They've reflected on the past, they need a new plan They've been crushed perhaps
[2:02] Under pressure They want to rebuild And they've fallen They want to be restored So they come up with New Year's Resolutions Because New Year's is a time for new starts New beginnings Some people want to give up smoking Some want to go to the gym Some want to eat healthy Others determine that they're going to travel more and work less Some decide to go back to school Some want to get a better job Some try to fix broken relationships All these people have reflected on past On the past failures And realised that they need a new plan Maybe they've all been crushed Under pressure and they want to rebuild Or maybe they've fallen And they want to be restored So they come up with New Year's Resolutions King David found himself in a very similar situation David writes Psalm 51 In the context of 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12
[3:05] And if you read 2 Samuel 11 and 12 You see David fail And his life just come crashing down around him And it all starts very innocently He doesn't go off to war with his army He doesn't go out and lead them In springtime when kings would lead their armies to war Big mistake While his army is away He's up in his palace And he surveys his city Below him And he sees a beautiful woman Bathing Below him And he's captivated by her And he finds out What her name is And he finds out her name is Bathsheba And that she is the wife Of his servant Uriah Uriah is off fighting So David calls her He has sex with her And he sends her back He uses her To satisfy
[4:07] His desires But word comes back real soon Bathsheba is pregnant What will he do? Scandal He comes up with a very cunning plan He sends for Bathsheba's husband Uriah And he wines and dimes him And before Before he returns back to the fighting David says Go home Relax Refresh yourself Sleep with your wife But Uriah shows loyalty Where David lacks And he sleeps out The front door of his house And doesn't go in Because his countrymen Are still fighting He won't relax Like David When his brothers Are at war He won't indulge himself In the pleasures Of his home And his wife While his fellow Israelites Are shedding their blood For David And David is furious So he sends Uriah
[5:08] Back to Joab The captain of his army With a sealed letter And in the letter The order from David Is to put Uriah In the front line Where the battle is worst And then draw back From him And let him fight alone And Uriah probably fights Very bravely For his king But he ends up dying To the hands Of the Ammonites Then David Takes Bathsheba To be his wife And covers up The whole affair And as you read This story You're supposed To feel anger You're supposed To say David You are a mongrel For doing that To a loyal And faithless servant Faithful servant You see David Thinks he's gotten away With the whole thing And then Nathan The prophet Comes along And he says David God has seen It all And you're worthy
[6:09] Of death For your treachery You see David Wasn't supposed To be a king Like the other nations He was supposed To be a king That didn't take By force From his subjects He was supposed To be a king That was just And righteous And loving Towards God's people A king who always Acted in the best Interests Of Israel But he failed And the punishment Is death You see you can't Abuse God's people By stealing Their wives Or killing them And murdering them And get away with it So David prays Have mercy on me O God According to your Steadfast love According to your Abundant mercy Blot out my Transgressions Wash me thoroughly From my iniquities And cleanse me From my sin David throws himself On the mercy of God That's his only option
[7:10] But it's a bit more Than that It's mercy Based on God's Previous promises To him Because in 2 Samuel Chapter 7 God had promised David that he Would have a throne That lasts forever That he Would bless David And make his name Great And David Has just jeopardised All of that So David Throws himself On God's Previous promises To him I can see that When he says According to your Steadfast love Have mercy on me Because You're steadfast To your promises To me David is Faithless But God Remains faithful You see You and I Today Can say Exactly the Same thing To God That's the Great thing You and I Can throw Ourselves
[8:11] On the Mercy of God Because of His promises To us The promise That Jesus Has died For our sins No matter How bad They are The promise That Jesus Gives us Renewed life Forever Because of His resurrection The promise That we Have a Continual And everlasting Relationship With God Because Jesus Is now Interceding For us In heaven Those promises Are sure They're fixed They're unmovable Complete Steadfast And when we Reflect on Our past Failures When we Crash under Pressure When we Fail and Fall When we're Not faithful And steadfast To God God remains Faithful and Steadfast To those Promises Found in Jesus And we Need to Throw Ourselves On those Promises On God's Mercy Throw Ourselves On those Promises Like David Did Throw
[9:11] Ourselves On Jesus If you Like It's our Only Option It was David's Only Option Too Because He'd Been Found Out Caught Red Handed He can't Deny The fact That he's Guilty Before God And he Says As much In Verse Three For I Know My Transgressions And my Sin is Ever Before Me Against You You Alone Have I Sinned And Done What is Evil In Your Sight So That You Are Justified In Your Sentence And Blameless When You Pass Judgment Indeed I Was Born Guilty A Sinner When My Mother Conceived Me I Love To Watch Little Kids Get Into Trouble I Think It's Really Funny When They Get Caught Red Handed Caught Out It's Hilarious Because You See Their Reaction Their Reaction Is Just Fantastic First It's Surprise Who Me Second It's Denial I Didn't Third
[10:11] It's Rebellion It's Not Fair Fourth And Always Last It's Acceptance I'm Sorry See For Kids The Last Thing They Usually Do Is Admit Their Mistake And Throw Themselves On The Mercy Of Their Parents It's The Natural Instinct For Us Is To Deny It All And When We Can No Longer Deny Our Instinct Is To Rebel And Fight Denial And Rebellion Is Childish It's Silly And It's Immature Because The Best Thing You Can Do When You're Caught Red Handed When You're Caught Out Accept It Say Sorry Throw Yourself On The Mercy Of God Because We've All Been Caught Red Handed Haven't We We've All Been Caught Out We've All Failed And We All Continue To Fail To Meet God's Standards David
[11:12] Doesn't Deny Any Of His Sin He Isn't Childish He Isn't Silly He Doesn't Look Surprised When God Comes To Him About His Sin When He Catches Him He Doesn't Deny To God's Face That He's Done These Things He Doesn't Rebel And Tell God Well I'm Going To Stay Doing These Sinful Things That I'm Doing Continuing My Sin Instead He Admits His Guilt For I Know My Transgressions My Sin Is Always Before Me Against You You Alone Have I Sinned And Done What Is Evil In Your Sight God You're Just And Blameless When You Pass Judgment The Point Is Don't Be In Denial Don't Be Rebellious Tonight Don't Be Childish And Pretend You Haven't Offended God Don't Be Childish And Pretend That God Won't Judge You For Your
[12:12] Offence Don't Be Childish And Refuse To Cast Yourself On God's Mercy Don't Be Childish And Refuse To Cling To God's Promises Don't Be Childish And Refuse To Trust Jesus Death For Our Sins His Resurrection For Our Life His Continual Intercession For Our Continual Failure Don't Be Childish And Rebellious Tonight Admit Your Guilt Cast Yourself On God's Mercy Cast Yourself On His Promises It's Heavy Isn't It With Some I Don't Know About You But When I Think About My Sin It Feels Really Heavy I Feel Sad When I Talk About My Sin I Feel Depressed When I Acknowledge My Sin I Feel Gutted When
[13:14] I Hear Paul Barker And Paul Dudley And Danny And Carol Even When I'm Preparing My Own Sermons And They Get Up Here And They Speak About Sin I Often Feel Condemned And Worthless Before God You See My Sin Causes Me To Feel Sad And Depressed Like A Loser I Have No Joy And Freshness And Gladness And Rejoicing In My Life But Tonight I Want To Say That That's Okay It's Okay To Feel Like That It's Okay To Feel Like That When Our Sin Is Exposed It's Okay To Feel Gutted When You Admit Do It Before A Holy God You See Our Sin Should Have That Effect On Us If It Doesn't Then There's Something Wrong
[14:14] Because The More Your Sin Hurts Then The More You'll Long For Joy And Peace The More You'll See The Horror Of Your Sin And It Strikes You The More You'll Long To Be Restored The More Your Sin Burdens You Down Then The More You'll Plead For Release Listen To David's Pleading Verse Six You Desire Truth In The In Being Therefore Teach Me Wisdom In My Secret Heart Purge Me With Hyssop I Shall Be Clean Wash Me And I Shall Be Whiter Than Snow Let Me Hear Joy And Gladness Let The Bones You Have Crushed Rejoice Hide Your Face From My Sins Blot Out All My Iniquities Do Do You Want Joy And Gladness And Rejoicing In Your Life Then
[15:15] First You Need To Be Purged With Hyssop First You Need To Be Crushed By God Hyssop Was A Coarse Plant That They Used To Use To Scrape The Blood Off The Stone Altar David Is Asking To Be Scrubbed By That We Need To Be Purged And Crushed Then Restoration Will Be Fully Experienced True Joy And Rejoicing Will Come You See You Can't Experience God Fully Without Being Purged And Crushed You Can't Have Wisdom Without Your Folly Being Exposed And Done Away With You Can't Be Whiter Than Snow Without Being Washed You Can't Have Joy And Gladness And Rejoicing Without God Putting The Finger On You Tonight Don't Be Surprised When Your Sin Gets You Down
[16:15] Don't Think There Is Something Wrong When Sin Weighs You Down Don't Think That God Has Abandoned You When He Puts His Finger On You Exposing Sin Hurts It's Natural To Feel Those Things But Exposing Sin Leads To Joy It Leads To Gladness That Leads To Rejoicing David Knew This So He Even Asked God To Purge Him Even Though He Knows It's Going To Hurt And He Asked God To Wash Him Even Though He's Going To Seal The Dirt And Grime Before His Very Own Eyes And He Asks Because He Knows That It's Going To Result In Joy And Gladness And Rejoicing We Need To Be Purged And Crushed In Order To Have A Fresh Start Listen To David's Fresh Start In Verse 10 Create In Me A Clean Heart O God Put
[17:16] A New And Right 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 Sustain In Me A Willing Spirit When We're Purged With Hyssop When We're Crushed By God We Have A New Start We Can Be Rebuilt And Restored Because God Will Create In Our Hearts Cleanness He'll Put A Right And Willing Spirit In Us To Do His Will And He'll Bring Us Close So That We Can Be Intimately Involved With Him He'll Restore The Joy Of Our Salvation Now I don't Know About You But I Really Want That I Want To Have A Clean Heart I Want To Have The Right Spirit In Me I
[18:17] Want To Have Joy In My Life I Want To Have A Willing Spirit That Will Sustain Me Forever I Want To Have The Joy Of Salvation In My Life Continually Is That Your Desire Tonight Do You Want That Then Throw Yourself On God's Mercy God's If If You Have The Courage Ask God To Purge And Crush You Then You'll Have Joy And Gladness And Rejoicing Him Can But unlike most New Year's resolutions, this isn't only about us.
[19:05] It isn't only about God giving us a new plan. It isn't only about God rebuilding us. It isn't only about God picking us up and restoring us. David prays for others.
[19:19] Then I'll teach transgresses your ways and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from the bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation. And my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
[19:32] O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. Gary Squires is a hero. You probably haven't heard of Gary.
[19:43] But only last week, Gary saved four swimmers from a deadly rip at Patterson River. Just down the road, really, on the bay. Two children got swept out on the change of tide next to Patterson River.
[19:56] And they started to struggle. And the parents saw them. So the parents rushed in and swam out to save them. But they got caught as well. And they started to struggle.
[20:08] Gary saw the whole thing and he jumped in. He swam out there. He got to them and he dragged them back in. And then he took them to Frankston Hospital to recover.
[20:18] The parents of the two children sang their hero's praises, didn't they? They said in the Herald Sun, He is amazing. I'm just so glad and I thank him that I'll have my children home for Christmas.
[20:35] Those parents were saved. The children were saved. They just sang the praises of their hero, Gary. They declared to everyone how wonderful this guy was.
[20:49] How much of a hero he was. I wonder, is God your hero? Do you sing aloud of his deliverance of you?
[21:01] Do you declare his praises to everyone you know? Because David sees that as, sees that as, that's what we ought to do in response to being saved.
[21:13] Do we sing aloud of his deliverance? Do we praise him? Because he saved us to everyone.
[21:24] I suspect that most of us don't. We'd probably rather, or we find ourselves wallowing in our sin. Continually lamenting our fallen state.
[21:37] Continually feeling depressed and sad and condemned. Never looking up. To what God has accomplished in Jesus. If you feel a little bit like that tonight.
[21:52] Be like David. He acknowledged his sin. But he didn't continually wallow in it. Either. Be like David.
[22:03] Because David moves on. And he teaches, transgresses the mercy of God. He moves on and declares the praises of God to everyone. He moves on. And he sings of God's goodness to anyone who will hear.
[22:16] We may be sinners. But our duty is to move on and look up. And get on with it. And praise God joyfully.
[22:28] Because he's delivered us. He saved us. And by praising him joyfully. And by praising him joyfully. Others will join in that praise with us. And experience joy and gladness and rejoicing with us.
[22:44] And that will be great. Hawthorne have a plan for 2004. Hawthorne have a plan for 2004. This plan will only work if they do four things. They get harder.
[22:56] They get harder. Bigger. Simpler. Talented. That's the only way they're going to succeed in rebuilding and restoring themselves.
[23:06] That's the only way they're going to please their coach, Peter Swap. That's the only way they're going to please their members and their fans. And it's going to be a hard slog all summer for them.
[23:18] It's going to be hard work. But for us. It isn't hard work. It's not a hard slog. To be restored and rebuilt by God.
[23:30] You see we can praise God. And David praises God that all the hard work has been done. All the promises are already there. And all that is required is this.
[23:41] Verse 16. For you have no delight in sacrifice. If I were to give you a burnt offering you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit.
[23:54] A broken contrite heart, O God. You will not despise. New Year's presents us with a great opportunity for a new start, doesn't it?
[24:06] Do you want a fresh start with God? If you have a broken spirit before God. If you have a contrite heart before God. Then you have that new start. You have joy and gladness and rejoicing to look forward to.
[24:23] Because God never despises brokenness and contrition before him. This New Year's say sorry. Like David did.
[24:35] This New Year's ask God to purge you and crush you. Like David did. This New Year's. This New Year's. Plead. For God's joy and gladness and rejoicing to be restored to you.
[24:50] Like David did. This New Year's. Sing God's praises aloud to everyone. Like David did. This New Year's. Have a broken spirit. And a contrite heart before God.
[25:01] You can be sure that God will never despise that. Rather he'll rebuild you. He'll make you whole.
[25:13] He'll restore you to himself. He'll delight in you as you serve him. With praise and joy in your heart. And in your mouth. Verse 18.
[25:26] Do good to Zion in your good pleasure. Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in right sacrifices that we offer. In burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
[25:40] Then bulls will be offered on your altar. Amen. Amen.
[25:56] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[26:10] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. y walk on. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[26:21] Amen. Amen.