Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Many years ago I used to work at a professional laundromat. I was required to unload dirty laundry from off of a big truck and then hang the heavy bags on a track system that was mounted high up in the ceiling. We then proceeded to swing them over to a table, and open them up as they came whizzing by. It’s hard to believe the stuff that was inside of those bags. We would get all kinds of filthy clothing from mechanics and motels, but some of the dirtiest always seemed to be the chef’s uniforms. They are normally spattered with food and depending on how long they were left standing in the summer heat, you would find piles of worms and other creepers crawling through the pockets. But as dirty and stained as they were, they came out of the laundry clean as a whistle. In fact they all look brand new, and had just been bought from a store.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Like those dirty clothes, each of us are stained with sin. Like that big machine so many years ago, it makes me think about how the Lord wants to cleanse us from our sinfulness. This is the reason why He came to the Earth, to atone for our past misdeeds. Before honor is humility, and before forgiveness we must be humble and contrite in his presence.
James 4:6-10 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
I’ve always told my family that pride is a killer. It can prevent you from drawing from the well of forgiveness with God. This is why if we sin, (which I pray that you don’t),we must come quickly to God or others whom we have wronged. Taking care of the matter quickly shows that you are concerned about the consequences for your behavior. The longer it goes on, the harder the heart will become. Like throwing a heavy anchor off your fishing boat, God wants to cast our sins into the depths, never to be seen again, but humility and contrition must come first.
Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
David was filled with remorse for what he had done, but was filled with contrition and a broken heart. Because He sought God in this frame of mind, he found Mercy from the Lord..
Psalms 51:1-19 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 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. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
The humble publican too was filled with grief for his sins. He was so sad that he was pounding on his chest. This outward display of godly sorrow resulted in him obtaining forgiveness with God.
Luke 18:10-14 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
The Apostle Paul commended the church for having contrition. Godly sorrow will cause your heart to turn into something else, obedience and faithfulness to the will of God.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
If you truly possess the fear of God, you will humble yourself before him.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Some people cannot access God’s blessings because they just don’t care and lack the humility to obtain it. In order to repent properly, contrition needs to take place. For divine forgiveness to flow, true contrition must be present within the heart.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
The humble publican found mercy in the sight of God because he mourned for his own sins
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
God wants to forgive us of our sins, but it will require repentance and contrition. If you humble yourself in the sight of God he will lift you up. The Lord wants to carry our burdens. The stains of sin can be washed away, but you are going to have to take the effort by reaching out with a penitent heart and throwing your dirty clothes into…
……The Washing Machine
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 