1184. Broken Before God pt. 1

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. This week on The Daily Platform, we're featuring sermons preached from the Bob Jones University 2021 Bible Conference with the theme of sanctification. Today's sermon will be preached by Pastor Will Galkin of Gospel Grace Church in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The title of his message is Broken Before God from Psalm 51. So thankful for the Word of God as it's gone out. I hope that this week has been a refresher for you. That as you've been in the middle of the spring semester, that you've been able to just refresh and remind yourself of what matters.

That we need the Lord to sanctify us and He sanctifies us through His truth, through His Word. And we're so thankful that this season of your life can be a season where you go after God in a fresh way. And you learn to enjoy God and you cultivate the disciplines of pursuing God. And you're digging the wells that you're going to draw out of the rest of your days.

And so go for it. Be somebody that knows and loves God. You know, we all drift. We all have times where we feel distant from God. Sometimes when we sin, we try to forget it. Sometimes we cover it up, cover it up or try to hide our sin. We try to minimize the infraction, maybe blame it on others. When found out, we try to compensate with good behavior.

We promise we'll never do it again. But what does God want when we drift into sin? What does God want from us all our days? You take your Bibles, you'll see in Psalm 51 verse 16, a gift. A gift for the sinning saint. This passage shares with us the desires of God. So what does God want from you when you drift into sin? Verse 16 says he desires not sacrifice, else I would give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. These two verses, they serve as the apex of an entire psalm that was given to us as an example of how to deal with sin. We know from the introduction, the context of this psalm, look all the way to the very front of that psalm, one of the little words before verse 1, what does it say? It says with the psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he'd gone into Bathsheba. This public psalm was birthed via the private sin of David that's recorded in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. The Bible tells us that David, probably in his late middle age, that he was home in Jerusalem, his armies were fighting battles. He goes, he looks upon a woman he lost in his heart, he calls her Bathsheba, they commit adultery, he tries to cover up his sin.

He comes up with a complex plan that finally ends up in the murder of Uriah, one of his bravest soldiers. David probably did not realize that when God sent Nathan the prophet, God was sending grace. Nathan grabbed the attention of the king by telling the story of a rich man and a poor man, and the rich man stole a poor man's lamb, and David was incensed, I mean he just says, that man is worthy of death! David's response said, David, it's you.

It's you. And Nathan begins to unpack the depth of David's sin, he starts to reveal the ramifications of his cover up. And David's heart begins to break.

At last, probably nine or so months after at last, David is no longer blame shifting. He simply responds with, I have sinned against the Lord. And like a seed planted, that prayer expands until it becomes Psalm 51, this lament over the weight of sin, a desperation for God to forgive, cleanse, restore, and even once again use, David got it. What God wanted at that moment was a broken and contrite heart. I remember often sitting in Northland Chapel hearing Lesola say, Brokenness is the shattering of our will so that every action and reaction is controlled by the Spirit of God. It's the shattering of our will so that every moment is yielded to the control of the Spirit of God. And both Psalm 51 and a concept of brokenness is for all of God's people. We see it through all the scripture, this process of us yielding to do the desires of God. In contrast, the desires of our spirit, our flesh, a yieldedness to God. Sometimes when we read about Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 11 and 12, I think sometimes we're like, well, thanks, Will, I've not committed adultery. You know what, I've not murdered anyone today.

But I know where to go. I'll go straight to this passage. If this is ever an issue in my life, it's almost like with a sigh of relief, like, OK, thanks, David, I'll go there sometime. But can I tell you, the sin of adultery and the sin of murder that David committed were just manifestations of a deeper problem. And what we see going on in 2 Samuel 11 and 12 is that the hardness of David's heart is the same hardness of heart that's in many of us. And yet, unfortunately, many of God's people fail to see the hardness of their own hearts. And what I want to propose to us this evening is that no matter how hard your heart is, no matter how blind you are to your sin, God's grace is bigger, stronger, greater.

He can give you a broken heart. What I want to do is I want you to turn to 2 Samuel 11 and 12. We're just going to use this to begin to allow the Word to dig into our own soul, to show us just seven manifestations of a hardened heart, seven manifestations of selfishness that need to be met by God's grace. In 2 Samuel 11 and 12, we see the need for a heart that's broken. The first evidence that we need a heart that is broken is when we become oblivious to the clear commandments of Scripture. Look in 2 Samuel 12, verse 9.

We'll be going all throughout those two chapters. Upon confronting David, Nathan the prophet, he asked David, he said, Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in a sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with sword, and you've taken his wife to be thy wife. He's just saying this, David, David, didn't you know it's wrong to commit murder? Didn't you know it's wrong to commit adultery?

The word despise, it just means to treat in a vile or worthless manner. Did not David say things like, I love your law? Did not David know the law of Exodus 20, thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not commit adultery? What about all the other commandments that he broke, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not lie? David knows the commandments of God, and yet David chooses to disobey.

Why? Because his presumptuous sin tells us that he has a head full of knowledge and a heart that's full of pride. You know, in a Bible college setting, in a Christian university setting, do you know what can happen sometimes? We can know the stories, we can know the concepts, we can know the theology, we can know all that we're supposed to know, and yet have a head full of knowledge and a heart that's full of pride. When we know the clear commandments of scripture and are oblivious to them, we need a heart, we need a heart that's broken.

But we also need a heart that's broken when we begin to use people to get to our idols. You see, David's position of authority allowed him to use people to get to his lost. Look over at 2 Samuel 11 verse 4, and David sent messengers and took her, and she came in unto him and he lay with her. He desires this sinful pleasure, he uses people to get to this idol of his own desire. What does he do when soon it's revealed and soon there's this issue and so it comes to pass that he tells Joab. It says, and it came to pass when Joab observed in the city, he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew the valiant men were.

So now David uses Joab as general to position Bathsheba's husband in a place that he would surely die. You know, we were talking that first morning that I was able to teach on Wednesday, we're talking about idols, and how that we so lust for our idols that will hurt people to get to our idols, that people become walls in front of our idols and will bash through them. And when I use people to get to my desires, my heart is not broken.

But when I'm hard on others and easy on ourselves, when I'm hard on others and I'm easy on myself, my heart's not broken. Look at 2 Samuel 12 verses 5 through 6. If you remember the story, the rich man, the poor man, the rich man takes the lamb. David, he just flips out. Look at verse 5.

David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man that's done this thing shall surely die. He shall restore the lamb fourfold because he's done this thing, because he had no pity. Do you know what the law, the law prescribed as a punishment for somebody that took a lamb, he needed to return four lambs.

This was not a capital crime. And yet David is hard on others, easy on himself. Our lack of brokenness is seen when we're quick to point out other people's faults while ignoring our own. We're so good at seeing other people's issues. We're so good at seeing other people's failures.

Our lack of brokenness is seen when we're quick to dish out judgment that is sterner than the law requires. I remember while working at camp, I was responsible for the discipleship of the staff and I saw a certain staffer come in and man, he just looked bothered. It was Monday morning, I could tell something's up and I said, you okay? And he's just like, he's like, I need to talk to you. And so later that day, he finally came to my office and I said, well, what's up? He goes, well, I got two things. I said, okay. He said, first of all, I just, I know what this, I'm so bothered.

I went down to such and such church and they were singing as the deer and I'm just so bothered by that. Do you know the connections? And I was like, I didn't know those connections.

And he's like, and he's just, he's just bothered. I said, well, let me just tell you, we're just a camp, we're not a church, that's a church. And so, you know, they've got a pastor and deacons and the congregation. So, you know what, you probably should go to a different church because we're just, we're just trying to serve all the churches here. Maybe you can go in another church and, you know, where your conscience would allow. And I, you know, that's just not our, I'm not going to speak into that.

That's not really our responsibility. And I said, so what's number two? He goes, well, I just all weekend, I just been really struggling with pornography. I just looked at it, I said, are you kidding me? I went right to this passage and then I looked at him, I said, why wasn't this number one? Why is it that we're so hard on others, so easy on ourself, because our hearts not broken? We see our lack of brokenness, we see our selfishness when we're consumed with what we don't have, rather than being thankful for what we do have. Included in the rebuke of God through Nathan was a reminder that David had a total disregard for the goodness of God. You can see this in 2 Samuel 12 verse 7 and 8. And Nathan said to David, thou art the man, thus saith the Lord God of Israel. I anointed thee king over Israel, I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul, I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives in thy bosom, and I gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah, and if that had been too little, I would have moreover given you unto thee such and such things. You see, David had forgotten the goodness of God. I mean, he had his wives, he had the kingdom, he had all the gifts of God.

Do you know at the very core of selfishness is usually a kernel of ingratitude? When you're no longer thankful for the things that God has given you, the things that are in your possession, and you're looking around, and you're lusting, and you're coveting, and you're longing, and you're just allowing that ingratitude to well up in your soul. Tiger Woods, he's back on the circuit, but a number of years ago he messed up. He forsook his wife, he sought prostitutes, his wife left him. It was like there was just a meltdown, and he was just absent from the game of golf for a number of seasons. And I remember picking up a news magazine that just kind of was his first interview after this entire debacle. And I just remember him saying this, I'm reading this in like Newsweek or one of those news magazines that said, I hate being alone surfing channels, I wish I could be watching cartoons with my kids.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, he had an affair, and he writes, he said, it was the stupidest thing I have done. It's so easy for us to forget the goodness of God, the kindness of God, the way he's paid for bills, the way he's provided for us through family or other people or institutions, and all the goodness of God in our life. And we forget about all these things, and we actually think that God's withholding something from us because he does not love us, and he's not good. No, God is good.

Yet a hardness of heart can sneak in when we're callous to the obvious warnings regarding our sin. You see, David was deaf to the voice of God through a simple servant in 2 Samuel 11 verse 3. David looks, he looks, he's thinking about this woman, he inquires of a servant.

He says, so who is this? And one of them said, is this not Bathsheba? Is that not Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite? Should David have had a red flag going off at that point? David was deaf to the voice of God through the character of his faithful servant. A few verses later, David, he's trying to figure out how to deal with this unwanted pregnancy, and he has an idea. He sends for Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, and he thinks, okay, I'll bring him back from the battle. I'll send him back to be with his wife, and then nobody will know the difference, but Uriah won't go be with Bathsheba. Listen to verse 10, chapter 11. And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said to Uriah, camest thou not from thy journey? Why then didst thou not go down to thy house?

And Uriah said to David, the ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as my soul lives, I will not do this thing. No, David, I'm not going to go be with my wife and enjoy the joys of marriage.

No, as long as you're alive, I'll die for you, so that you can sleep with my wife. Shouldn't that have been a red flag to David, that Uriah was more loyal to his king, the king that betrayed him? Do you ever have the red flags going off, something in your heart, the little niggle in the back of your mind?

I shouldn't be doing this, I shouldn't say this, I shouldn't go there. You see the example of somebody else seeking the Lord and you waste the time, you go somewhere else. The hardness of heart, the selfishness of our own life is manifested when we are callously obvious warnings regarding our sin, but when our pursuit of God, but also when our pursuit of God is replaced with an intensity to cover up sin. You see David, this is the David that used to say, early will I seek you, whom have I in heaven but you? But now he's heard scheming in 2 Samuel 11 verse 6 and David sent Joab saying, send me Uriah the Hittite. David says Uriah, go down and wash your feet. He brings him back, he gives him drink, he makes Uriah drunk, maybe now he'll go back down, finally frustrated. He writes Uriah's death sentence and Uriah carries it back to Joab and Joab opens the note, 2 Samuel 11 verse 15, and he wrote in the letter saying, set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retire ye from him.

Put him in a place of danger, pull back the soldiers that he may be smitten and die. David, the king, complex plans of killing the innocent so he can cover his sin. When you start going through long, lengthy plans to cover up sin, your heart's not broken.

When you're rehearsing conversations, I'll say this and then they'll say this and then I'll say this, I'll delete this, I'll go here, I'll do this, I'll cover this, I'll talk to this person, I'll send this email. Your sin in and of itself does not go away. It cannot just be sealed up. Even if the court doesn't punish, even if we're able to cover it with hypocrisy, eventually the smell of the rotting carcass will betray you.

But our heart's not broken. When our sin is more important than its effect on others, you know at the very core of sin is just this grain of just selfishness. It's all about myself. I want to feed myself.

I want to feed my desires. I don't care what happens to other people. You see the selfishness of David is seen when he wasted the lives of his brave soldiers. It wasn't just Uriah that died in that little battle. You see David wants Uriah to die, but there's other men that died too. The men of the city went out, 2 Samuel 11 verse 17. They fought with Joab and there fell some of the people of the servants of David and Uriah the Hittite died also. To cover up a sin, not only did Uriah die, but other brave men died. There was weeping in the city of Jerusalem to cover up David's sin. Then David, he hears the news, the servant tells him, and so David tells the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well of another. Just make thy battle more strong against this city and overthrow it. Servant, you just encouraged Joab. Callous, cold, calculated, death, hardness, selfish. Not only did Uriah die, not only did these other soldiers die, but this baby dies.

This baby that's a product and victim of sin, and David, his sin was more important. I love Tolkien, his epic adventure of the Lord of the Rings. Do you know this? The hobbits, the little halflings. They eat breakfast, and then second breakfast.

Elevensies, lunch, tea, supper, tea, late night snack. No wonder they're happy. These little hobbits, halflings, joyful in their shire. Nobody's going to bother them until they're gathered up and they're thrown into this epic adventure. There's a ring, an evil ring that must be destroyed. It has to go to Mount Doom. The Fellowship, the ring, they start carting this ring to find a way to free Middle Earth from evil.

Towards the end, the Fellowship breaks up, and one of these happy hobbits somehow, somehow is put in the servanthood of Denethor, the steward of Gondor. And Denethor has gone crazy. He's just been so affected by the evil that he's just like certain death is going to come.

Darkness is going to overwhelm us. There's no way to fight against the evil. And he takes his second born son, his oldest son, the one that he preferred, he died. And so now he takes his younger son and he sends him on this pointless attack.

They're supposed to go take back an area that's protected by goblins and orcs. And Denethor, this crazy steward, looks at Pippin, a normally happy hobbit, and says, sing me a song. And Pippin starts to sing a lament because his friend is writing to certain death. And if you've watched the movie, the way that they filmed the section is so gripping as you listen to Pippin sing a haunting lament. And you see Denethor taking chicken bones and breaking them as his son is being pierced by arrows.

And you see Denethor take a cherry tomato and like blood, it drips from his chin. He could care less. We pout, we yell, we mock.

We could care less about our sin and our selfishness and how it spills into our family seriously. If we were to bring parents and they were just to replay some of the last conversations you had when you left home, what would they say? If we were to bring in roommates and just ask, what are the words your roommate says?

What are the words that come out of your lips? Some of us are so filled with arrows. We spit them aesthetically at those around us. But all these manifestations can almost hide the most important point. Look at 2 Samuel 11 verse 28. I mean all these selfish manifestations are sometimes a cover up for the most important thing. Look at what he says there, but the thing that David had done what?

You say that. The thing that David had done what? Displeased the Lord. That should concern us.

You should be bothered. Our trampling of others, our using of others, our forgetfulness of God's goodness, it displeases the Lord. These transgressions, they're not trivial.

These selfish choices cannot be hidden. The weight of our sin is heavy. We are the prodigal in the hog pen. We are the Isaiah crushed before God. God is showing us our bent towards sin, our need for him. You see, what I'm asking for is that you would consider that your manifestations of sin, the things you say, the things you do, the things you think are driven by a selfishness that drives you. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

Who here is able to live perfectly? Who here is able to maintain a perfect sacrifice pleasing to God? The weight of sin is crushing. That's what the law does. The law shows us our infractions and how we've fallen short to the expectations and the character of God. And you begin to see as the law enters into our life, God uses the weight of our sin to break us of self-righteousness and crush us of our self-dependence. Left to your own vices, you will sin. Our only hope is God. You've been listening to the first part of a sermon preached by Pastor Will Galkin from the 2021 Bible Conference at Bob Jones University. Join us again tomorrow when we'll hear the conclusion of this sermon on The Daily Platform.