After Confession
Key Passage: Psalms 3
Date: June 21, 2026
Amen. Brother Chip’s doing a good job, isn’t he? I appreciate that. And praise the Lord for people willing to fill in here and there and yonder. The choir was at another church. He had already told someone to be there tonight. So I appreciate Brother Chip leading singing for us tonight. And I like that. By the way, yes, I do have my notes tonight. All right. I know you’re concerned about that.
And we got them, so that’s a good deal. Happy Father’s Day to everyone. Is there a father here tonight that did not—you weren’t here this morning, you didn’t get it? We got the beef jerky and the Dad’s root beer. Anyone not get one of those? We want to get you one of those. We’ve had fun with that. Brooks, Brooks, Brooks, beef jerky and a Dad’s root beer. There you go. There you go. We’ve got a couple of them left over.
And so, good deal, good deal. I felt bad when our people were leaving out and they were carrying out. I thought, man, it looked like they’re carrying beer out of church, you know. It doesn’t look good at all. And the Congenese church, they had been invited to another church. They went to today. I didn’t know that until this—I think you texted me during church or something. I got it afterwards. And so…
But I thought that’s probably a good thing that it came in here and saw all that. You know, so what are they doing in this church here? You know, so that was a good deal. But praise the Lord, that just has been a good day. I hope you had a great day on Father’s Day. I really do. Good to see everyone here tonight. And that’s it. Let me just mention a word or two about our building.
Sunday, it’s all out for soul. Sunday morning, we’ll focus on the gospel. Then 4 o’clock, if you’re able to, we’ll have a bus ready to go. We’re going to try to go to a good fishing hole. You understand what I’m saying on that. And we’ll load up and go. And we’ll be back by 6 o’clock next Sunday night. That’s an exciting time. If you can make it on that bus, if you’ve never done anything like that, we’ll pair you up with someone that has. And that’s just an exciting time. So plan on that next Sunday. If you can be a part of that, that would be great, and I’m looking forward to that very, very much so. Praise the Lord for these young folks.
And I tell you, Brother Josh looks like he’s ready to preach. I love it. I heard somebody else say he’s ready to preach or he’s an undertaker, one of the two, you know. But I love it. I love it both ways, and Oscar too. Glad to have them all up here. Praise the Lord for young people. And let me say this: I came in, oh, I don’t know, 5:30 or so, and there was one truck in the parking lot, an old Dodge Ram. And one of our buses was missing, and I thought he stole the bus. And no, I thought, praise the Lord for Brother Josh. Hours and hours and hours, Saturday, Sunday, driving the night bus and picking up young folks on his Sunday night. And I appreciate that greatly. That’s a lot. VBS—some of these buses would leave four or earlier and get back 10:30 at night.
Somewhere along those—I mean, Monday through Friday—and that’s the majority of the kids that came. And praise the Lord for our bus folks. They do one with Tim and Jennifer on the south route, and Brother Josh and Garrid and others. I miss another’s near VBS with Ted and others. Brother Richard drives, you know, we had several drivers, whatnot, but man, they just worked so hard. Praise the Lord for bus workers. Doing a great, great job. Praise the Lord for them.
And Brother James, would you lead us in a word of prayer for the offering, please, brother? Church, let’s go to 241. “Thank You, Lord.” We’re just going to sing the chorus twice. 241. “Thank You, Lord.” Let me start that over. I’m sorry, Ms. Sarah. Okay. I’m just going to sing it. Ready? “Thank You, Lord.” There it is. For saving my soul.
Amen. I appreciate Brother Chip stepping up and leading singing for us. He did a good job. And that’s great. Psalms chapter number three, we’re back there tonight. I actually have notes tonight, so that’s a good thing. And Psalms chapter number three—how many had a big, big meal for lunch today? Brother Johan is still shaking his head. Well, one of them is shaking his head no, when I’m shaking his head yes, I don’t know, you know. So, amen. Amen.
Maybe one ate a little bit more than the other. Maybe that’s what it is there, you know. Psalms chapter number three, and we were here this morning. Let me just rehearse a little bit. This is—and let me just say a note: It’s very hard to tell in some Bibles. You know, I mentioned the header there is included in the Hebrew original language. That’s very hard to tell. We have so many study Bibles and so many things out there. Actually, mine, chapter 1, chapter 2, has a little thing, but it’s not the Hebrew text. So it’s hard to tell that, but if it says, you know, “Psalm of David,” that typically is. But this one for sure is, and I even checked that out before this morning. So, a little tough to tell. But this is David when his third son—what a shame—his own son is trying to kill him and trying to take over. Can you imagine if your son’s trying to kill you? Wow.
And really started—I mentioned this morning—it started way back when the oldest son, Amnon, he loved and lusted after Tamar. And he forced her, he raped her. And then David didn’t do anything about it. The king and the dad didn’t do anything about it. And of course Absalom—that’s his full—that’s his half-sister Tamar, but Absalom, that’s his full-blooded sister. And he really took care of her. I mentioned this morning, had a daughter named Tamar. He really just took care of his sister. And it just seemed like nobody was doing anything, bringing justice. So eventually Absalom kills Amnon, flees the country. But slowly, Absalom’s heart just kept getting darker and darker, and it became very manipulative and very hard-hearted. And eventually, he comes back, really not having a relationship with his dad. And at the beginning there, just mentioned this morning, David was a great king, but I wouldn’t want him as my dad. And I’m glad the Bible just tells us the reality of it all, you know.
But eventually Absalom just got so hard-hearted, and it took a couple years. But if people would come from wherever across Israel to get help or whatnot, Absalom was there, and he would say, “Oh, my goodness, I wish David had more people appointed to help you.” And he would just slyly put down David, and he would say, “Well, you know, I’m glad to help you anytime I can.” And subtly, just, you know, very subtle, put down David and always lift himself up. And he stole—the Bible words it that way—he stole the heart of the people. And then he’s trying to, and he is really taking the throne of Israel. He actually enters Jerusalem. He’s there on the throne. He actually is with some of King David’s concubines that David left behind. David had to flee. He had some of his advisors say, “Hey, the conspiracy is strong, and it’s growing every day, continually is growing, and you better leave town, they’re going to kill you.” David flees out to this outside city, Mahanaim, and he’s over there, and he really does not know for sure what’s going to happen.
And just—we mentioned this morning, but I want you to just try to get our hearts there again. Imagine the betrayal you’d feel, the hurt you’d feel. I mean, your very own son, the fear—you don’t know if you’re going to live or not. Three to two, three million people, they say, during that time of Israel, so maybe a million, two million people against David, and he’s out there at this city. That’s when God uses him to pen this Psalm. It just helps so we understand what’s going on. All right, so let’s look at it. We’re going to read it all the way through again tonight, all 457 verses of it.
And would you stand, please? Would you stand? Psalms 3. And that’s the background of this Psalm here in Psalm chapter 3. He says, “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me? Many there be which say of my soul, ‘There’s no help for him in God.’ Selah.” Think on that.
Everything changes. Verse three, we focused on it this morning, but “Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” “I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of 10,000 of people that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone.” We mentioned that this morning. Thou had to break a jawbone for sure. “Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.”
“Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.” Now, would you pray with me that God would speak to hearts again from this chapter tonight? We’ll take a little different turn after we pray here. Father, thank you, Lord, for just giving us living illustrations of truths. Thank you for that, Lord. I pray, Father, would you do a work in our hearts? Let us see clearer Your love and Your forgiveness, and Lord, how You welcome us back after we’ve sinned. Help us to see that more tonight. And Father, we thank You for what You do. Father, we’re praying for that in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. But you look over in Second Samuel. Keep your finger in Psalms where we will be back there. Look over, if you would, at Second Samuel chapter number 12. Second Samuel chapter number 12. And Second Samuel chapter number 12, this is where David had just committed adultery with Bathsheba. Isn’t it interesting? Bathsheba, and he saw her when she was taking a bath. That’s interesting there, you know? And country boys have to do a lot of things to help me remember all these names, you know. But he committed adultery with her. And then, then he really basically murdered her husband, Uriah, covering it all up. And then he marries her after mourning, typically seven days a week, marries her. She has the child, and then the preacher with his long finger—point is a long finger right at David’s nose—and he tells him this story. And then he ends up saying, “David, thou art the man.” All right? Y’all with me tonight? That’s where we’re at.
Psalms. 2 Samuel 12. And when you look at verse number nine, verse number nine, he says there, he says, “Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.” Now, watch this. “Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine”—what?—“thy house, family.”
Absalom really started turning deeply dark when he killed his half-brother. He said, “The sword’s not going to leave your house.” That’s a little bit of fulfillment going on. Let’s keep going on. “Because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife: Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own”—what?—“house.” Wow. Absalom is the fulfillment of the chastening.
God said way back, look, David, now look, there’s going to be—the sword’s not going to depart out of your house, and there’s going to be someone that’s going to rise up out of your own house against you. “And I will take thy wife before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wife in the sight of the sun.” That’s what Absalom did. I didn’t mention this morning, I mentioned tonight, but David, when he left Jerusalem, he left some of his concubines, his wives, if you will, his mistresses, and left them there, and Absalom took them. Absalom went on the top of the palace—kind of resembles a little bit when David saw Bathsheba and committed adultery—so all Israel knows, well, it’s done for David. Absalom’s the new king. It’s a fulfillment of this. It’s part of God’s chastening to David.
Very interesting. Let’s keep going. “For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” It’s very important, verse number 13: “And David said unto Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’” And Nathan said unto David, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin. The Lord hath also put away thy sin.” I want you to get that. “The Lord hath also put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die.” So let’s jump back over to Psalm 3, and it adds a whole new level of meaning to Psalm 3. So when God is using David to pen Psalm 3, don’t you know? Don’t you know that in the back of David’s mind is, “I’m getting what I brought on myself. I’m getting what I deserve,” if you will. God’s man, Nathan the prophet, years earlier, told me this is going to happen. Y’all with me tonight? Come on, y’all with me tonight? You didn’t eat that much. You can still say amen.
Now let’s go back. Let’s go back and then. I just want to talk to you for a little bit about after confession.
David and Saul, you know, both the kings of Israel, both sinned. To me, Saul’s sin was so much less—was much lighter, if you will—than David’s sin. Saul, he didn’t wait; he wasn’t patient enough, and he wanted to go ahead and, you know, offer up the sacrifice himself. Well, that’s—I’m not saying that’s not—it’s all right. But David over here is committing adultery, he’s committing murder, he hid it. We don’t know how long—at least nine months because the baby was born, maybe a year. But here’s the thing: When Samuel confronted Saul with the sin, Saul would never just own up to it and say, “Man, I’ve sinned.” He never would. I mean, just always manipulative, conniving, blaming—he just never would just, “Man, I’m the one, it’s me, oh, Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” He never did that. But David, when confronted with—now it’s been a while, and he’d been hiding it—but when confronted with the sin, we just read it, verse 13: David said, “I have sinned.”
So much wisdom there. David, he was like all the rest of us. He was a sinner. Come on. But David was good at—when confronted, convicted—at getting right with the Lord. And he confessed; he owned up to it. And so now years later, he’s reaping what he sowed. You know the laws of reaping: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” And he was reaping this thing. But when he was reaping it, we’re reading what God had used him to pen. And I want you to notice the heart of it after confession. I want you to apply it in your life when you sin. Yes, you sin. Come on now. And you confess. How should you be once you’ve owned up to it? I said, man, you know, recently, have you asked the Lord? Man, I’ve asked the Lord a thousand times at least. And what should you and I be like once we sin, once we’ve confessed it? How should we handle this thing? David is a classic example of that in Psalms chapter 3. Let’s go back to it. Let’s go back to Psalm 3.
Let’s read it again with this in light, if you would. And look in verse number one and two—we’ll just get them—in Psalm 3, verse number one and two: “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me?” They were growing continually with Absalom. “Many are they that rise up against me? Many there be which say of my soul, ‘There’s no help for him in God.’ Selah.” But notice this is a man that he knows he’s reaping what he’s sown, but he’s confessed it to God. And look what he says in verse number three: “But thou, O Lord…” I mean, just stop for a second. He knew, he knew, yes, he sinned, but he confessed it, and he knew that God, the Lord, was still his Lord. God wasn’t done with him. God hasn’t said, “Fool of you on you, David,” I mean, I don’t want to. He said, “Hey, you’re still my Lord.” And when you confess it and your own heart condemns you and the devil’s after you, say, “Hey, that’s still my God there.” “But thou, O Lord”—notice what it says. What’s the next thing? “But thou, O Lord, art the shield for me.” David had sinned, yes, he had sinned, but he said, “Lord, you’re still my protector, you’re still my shield.” Don’t you believe the devil when he says God didn’t want to talk to you anymore, God doesn’t love you, God’s through with you? That’s a lie from the pit of hell. David said, “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory.” Hey, God can still be your glory when you mess up.
It reminds me of a preacher years and years ago. He had pastored for years. But he said—he said some of the best members in my church were folks who have been through a divorce. Now, I wasn’t trying to, you know, promote divorce, whatnot. But he was saying sometimes that sobers them up to reality, and then they sincerely seek and serve the Lord after that. I’m saying, friend, hey, God doesn’t toss anybody aside. David here said, “Hey, God’s still my glory.” Look at the rest of this thing here. It’s amazing. “And the lifter up of mine head.”
Now David’s talking about a man that’s reaping what he’s sown. He’s getting what he deserved. And he still said, “God, God’s going to be the one that lifts up my head.” You all with me tonight? Let’s keep going. Let’s keep going. Look at verse number four. He says, “I cried unto the Lord with my voice,” and he wouldn’t hear me anymore because I’ve sinned. Is that what he said? What does he say? “And he heard me out of his holy hill.” He’s a holy God, a holy hill, but he listens to sinners that have been through the blood of Jesus Christ. We just sang about it tonight. He’s cleansed us. And friend, don’t you believe the devil when he says, “Well, you’re a sinner, you can’t have your prayers answered”? Friend, you can go get cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and the Lord still hears the prayers of his children that have confessed and made things right. Satan wants you to wallow in that for the rest of your life for what you did and feel guilty about that. But the Lord says, “No, I want you to get back to the cross. I want to hear your prayers. We’ve got too much to do for you to spend the rest of your life wallowing in the sin that you committed a year or two ago, last month.” Get it right. God still hears.
I don’t know about you, but my mind goes to Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Did you notice that? If I regard—kind of like I see it and I hang on, I harbor it, not willing to confess and get it right, yes, and I’m just hanging on to that sin in my heart and I’m not willing to let it go and get this thing dealt with—no, the Lord will not hear you. But a Christian that has been to God and gotten that thing forgiven—we know the verse—say it with me out loud: 1 John 1:9. Now here we go: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from”—what?—“all unrighteousness.” Now, forget a man one time left and shaking hands out there. He said, “Pastor, I’m so glad that the Bible says ‘all unrighteousness,’” referring to 1 John 1:9. Friend, don’t you believe the devil when he says you can’t pray and you can’t get your prayers answered? When you get your heart right with God and you get it forgiven and cleansed, God says, “Hey, you’re my child, you’re right with me. Come on, let’s do business in the throne of grace area. Come on now. Oh, yeah.” Let’s keep going. You all want me out there tonight?
Verse number five. Here it is. I mentioned this morning. We won’t talk about it. Verse number five, he says, “I laid me down and slept.” How many got a good nap in today? All right, good, good. You’re obeying the Bible right there. You’re following the Bible, I should say. Look at that, man. You got a verse on it. He said, “I slept. I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” Can I just say this? When you sin and you go to the Lord for forgiveness, stop trying to make yourself pay for it. Jesus paid it all. The payment for sin is death. The wages of sin is what? Death. Jesus took that death on the cross. And so when you say, “Well, I just feel bad if I get right with God and I get his joy back and restored,” that’s what he wants. That’s why Jesus shed his blood, friend. And you wallowing in that penalty or guilt or whatever for the next hours or days or weeks—that’s not—you’re never going to pay for that sin. It’s already paid for. You know what David said? “I’m reaping what I’ve sown, but I’ve been to God. I’ve gotten this thing right, and God’s put it away from me.” He said that over in verse number 13, and he said, “You know what? I’m going to sleep. I’m going to saw some logs tonight.” They said, “The Lord sustains me.”
I’m not saying to take sin lightly in the whole home. I’m not saying that, but I’m saying, friend, when you’re trying to get right with God, the Bible is true, and the Bible says you’re forgiven and cleansed, and David believed that. And David later on, he didn’t let the devil hit him over the head with guilt for the next 20 years. He said, “Hey, I still have a God. He’s still my glory. He’s still my shield. He’s still going to lift my head, and he’s still hearing my prayers. I’m just going to go to sleep for a while.” That’s what I’m saying, friend. Don’t let the devil—don’t let the devil try to make you pay for a sin that Jesus already paid for. He paid for it. Let’s keep going. Let’s keep going. Let me just say one more word on that: God’s not a grudge holder when you get that sin underneath the blood. Yes, it’s salvation, and in your day-to-day walk as a child of God, you know. And by the way, parents, don’t be grudge holders.
If they need a weapon, give a weapon. If they need their cell phone taken away—Oscar says, “Don’t say that.” Good thing your mom or dad is not here, right? If they need to take it away, give them some punishment. Don’t hold a grudge over their head for the next 10 years. God doesn’t. David knew it. Let’s keep going, like I said a while ago. Verse number six. He says, “I will not be afraid of 10,000 of people that have set themselves against me round about.” You know, after you confess your sin, don’t live in fear.
Get that thing right. We have a missionary, and I wasn’t planning on saying this, but we have a missionary that messed up recently, and we’re not supporting them. It was to the point we can’t. We’ve tried to help, and we are doing some things to help there, and we are supporting him going through a program, I’ll just say that way, which is true. But, you know, I’ve spoken with him, and he said, “You know, I’m… I’m kind of just glad it’s out. Everybody knows about it, and he doesn’t have to live in fear anymore.” David said, “You know, everybody knows about it, God knows about it, I’ve confessed it, I’ve gotten this thing right.” And he said, “You know what? I’m not going to live in fear. 10,000 people come against me. God’s got me. He’s forgiven me.” I’ve got to clarify: I’m not saying go put all your dirty laundry out on the line. I’m not saying that for you.
Oh, friend, hey, if you’re a child of God, you’ve went back and you’ve did something, you said, “I wouldn’t do it again,” and you did it again. Get that thing right, and don’t let the devil beat you over the head for the next three weeks. And by the way, so often this is what happens. You know what? During that time, you know, when God’s forgiven you and cleansed you, but you’ve got to give the—you know what? You’re not what your wife needs you to be. You’re not what your husband needs. You’re not what your children need. You’re not what your neighbor needs. You’re not winning for the Lord. Get it under the blood and believe what the Bible says when he says, “I’ve forgiven you and cleansed you. I put it away,” and get back to the prayer closing. Get back on fire for the Lord. That’s what David was doing. David said, “I have 10,000 coming here. It’s all right.” I mean, hand to God. You know, it’s interesting, David—David in this Psalm, he knew. He knew. The preacher told him—when somebody tells you something like that, you know, a man of God like Nathan—you don’t forget it.
Well, you’re old—let me just explain something here a little bit to our own on this subject here. There’s a difference between conviction and guilt. Conviction is when you’ve sinned and you’ve not gotten that thing right. Oh, that’s conviction. The Spirit of God will convict. He reproves the world of sin. That’s talking about salvation. But then beyond that, boy, if you’re a child of God and you’re not living right, there’s going to be some conviction. If you never have conviction, you better check up on your salvation. But a child of God, you’re going to have conviction. Now, that’s conviction; that’s healthy, that’s good, that’s from God, the Holy Spirit. But once you went to God and said, “Lord, I’m so sorry,” and over there, 1 John 1:9, you’re trying to see it like God sees—the Lord has to see this thing like you see it—and you’re seeking to be like that, and “Lord, I’m so sorry,” and you’re confessing this thing, and you’ve confessed it and you’ve forsaken it. And he says, “If we confess,” He’s faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. And you’ve been through all that, and then you still have those feelings—that’s not conviction anymore. That’s guilt. Conviction is from the Holy Spirit. Guilt’s not from the Holy Spirit. It’s from your own heart. It’s from the world. It’s from your mind. And boy, your own heart will condemn you. That’s guilt. Two different things. And David had been convicted. Oh, he talks about it in other Psalms. I was convicted. But now he’s not even bringing it up. God took that away. He said, “I’m saying I’m the man,” and he says, “I’m not going to live in fear. God’s still my shepherd,” and the shepherd’s going to take care of his sheep. He’s not going to be afraid. Verse number six. Let’s go to verse number seven. He says, “Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.”
Let me say this: After confession, remember—remember the former blessings. You know, David’s saying, “God, you always took care of me in the past.” He’s remembering back, remember back when he was just a shepherd boy and what? The lion and the bear? That’s what we’re talking about. You’ve always taken care of my enemies. He’s remembering back when he was maybe a 17-year-old teenager, whatever, 20-year-old, and he killed that big old giant Goliath. Boy, you took care of him. You took care of me when I was running from Saul, and he’s remembering the former blessings and protection of God. And when you sin and you confess it, hey, go back and remember how good God’s been to you. Don’t forget about that. “I’ve been so good to you.” That’s what you should do. Verse number eight. Verse number eight, he says, “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.” After confession, David knew he was still one of God’s children. He still knew that. “I’m still the Lord’s.” He knew that.
Now, let’s go, if you will, over to Psalms 32. Psalms 32, just briefly here, and we’re going to be done. Psalms 32. And I want you just look at this: We often think of, and rightfully so, Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is a repentant Psalm. It’s when Nathan had come to David, and he’s kind of in the middle of getting right with the Lord, and he’s pouring his heart out to the Lord and confessing and getting things right. Psalm 32 is a little bit later about the same thing, but it’s after David gets thoroughly right with the Lord. Okay, then later on, Psalm 3 when Absalom’s after him. All right, they’re not all chronological, but Psalm 32, by the way, if you—if you maybe you’ve committed sin and whatnot, you’re trying to—Psalm 51’s awesome, but a little while after Psalm 51, I would recommend reading Psalm 32. It’s a great Psalm.
And this is David after he confesses and gets right with God. And he’s getting his heart—he’s getting things thoroughly right with God. Look what he says in Psalm 32, verse number one: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, oh, when God forgives you. Man, just—just, I’m forgiven. I’m blessed.” He says, “Whose sin is covered.” I like that song; it’s under the blood. Oh yeah, it’s covered by the blood. Verse number two: “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.” He doesn’t put it on your account. “And in whose spirit there is no guile.” That conviction and that confessing took away the deceit. That’s very important. I’ve gotten all that out. I’m forgiven and cleansed. We sang a song tonight; one of the verses was talking about the cleansing. I love the forgiveness, but cleansing his soul—he cleanses the stain of sin. David hears saying, you know, all that gall, that inside of me, that ill feeling towards people and all the—I’ve got it all out. “In whose spirit there is no guile.” When I kept silence—that’s when he was trying to hide it for nine months or so—“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.” Man, you talk about—was that a peaceful nine months or a year? You better believe it was. It probably hurt his health a whole lot. He was convicted by the Holy Spirit of God. He’s talking about that right there. Look at it.
Verse number four: “For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.” But we’ve had a lot of rain for June so far, you know, but somewhere along the line, typically summertime, it gets dry. And as you walk on this sidewalk out here, you’ll look, you’ll see brown spots that tells you exactly where the rocks are underneath the ground a little bit. You’ll see exactly. We’re not there yet, but he says I was drying up like a hot summer where there’s no rain. That’s what you say. He said, verse number five, he said, “I acknowledged”—that’s the key—“I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,’ and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Think on that, dwell on that. “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters, they shall not come nigh unto him.” He goes on, we won’t finish it. But he said, “Man, I’m forgiven. I’m cleansed.” That’s so very, very key. Can I give you just—it’s just four concluding thoughts very quickly? I’m talking about once you’ve confessed, once you went, “I’m sorry, Lord,” and you’ve honestly and sincerely tried to see it the way God sees it. You’ve honored—you’ve not been deceiving. “Lord, it’s me, it’s my fault,” you’re not—and you confessed it. Let me give you a couple thoughts and we’re done. Number one:
Let God do the chastening. He’s God, He’s just, He knows what you need. Don’t try to chasten yourself. That’s God’s business. Let Him chasten you. “Lord, I put myself in Your hands.” Don’t spend the next 20 years trying to make up for what you did between you and God. God says, “My son, it was paid on the cross. Now once you get close to me, I love you, you’re my child.” Number two: Allow yourself to be imperfect. Allow yourself to be imperfect. Can I say this? This all-or-nothing mentality brings defeatism, especially if someone’s coming out of sin or addiction. And man, you expect perfection—boom! You’re probably going to defeat them before they even get started. Allow yourself. I was talking to someone Friday night, maybe it was, I’m not sure. And I said, “Hey, you know, allow yourself to be imperfect. Nobody’s perfect. It’s all right.” Am I saying what happened is right? No, I’m not saying that. But you know what? Hey, welcome to the crowd. We’re all imperfect. Number three—just four—number three, four things, we’re done. Number three: Allow others to be imperfect. You know, “Brother so-and-so said so-and-so to me today.” Well, you know, you’ve said so-and-so to so-and-so before, too. Allow them to be imperfect. It’s all right. God allowed David to be imperfect. He did. Number four, number four. I’m talking about after we’ve confessed, made things right: Forgive yourself. Forgive yourself.
You know, I don’t see in Psalm 3 David getting chastened for what he did. He’s reaping what he sowed. It’s very clear in Scripture. But, you know, I don’t see David just going back and just being guilt-ridden. I see David saying, “You know, God, you’re still my God. You’re going to protect me. You’re my glory. I’m still living for you. You’re going to lift my head up when you’re ready. I’m going to sleep.” Forgive yourself. I was thinking about someone in the last months; they got thoroughly right with God. It’s been years, but they got thoroughly right with God. They had made a major mistake or sin in their life, made a wrong decision, and they knew it was wrong. And they said when they were trying to get thoroughly right with God that the Lord said, “Hey, you’ve confessed that thing probably a thousand times to me. Now I’ve forgiven you. Now you need to forgive yourself.” And part of them getting back close to the Lord, they had to forgive themselves. God’s been working in their life greatly.
A little illustration, we’re done. Amen? Amen? Good. I figured y’all would say amen on that. A family had adopted a boy, and he came out of a rough old childhood and whatnot. And he was still a boy when they adopted him; he had old, raggedy clothes on. I know it’s seven. We’re going to pray here in a minute. And I’m glad it’s just a beeper, though, amen. You know, that’s a good thing. But anyway, he had some old, raggedy clothes on, and they said, “Hey,” they got him some good clothes, got him cleaned up. And he had old—I don’t mean, you know, the Holy Spirit holy—but I mean holy as far as holes in them tennis shoes. And they kept them. And they laid them out in the living room, and they just kept them over there. And, you know, back in the day when preachers would come through, a lot of times they would go over to so-and-so’s house to eat, you know. And the preacher was over there to eat at their house. And it was a nice, nice house, you know, clean and everything nice. You know, but he kept seeing those dirty, old, stinky, holy, filthy shoes. Finally, he couldn’t help it. I mean, nothing in the whole house—everything in the house was so nice. Finally, he said, “I can’t—I’m sorry, but I just—watch the shoes.” And they said, “Well, that’s for Junior over here. And every time he’s bad, we remind him of what he came out of.” And the preacher said, “I’m glad God doesn’t do that.” The preacher said, “I’m glad when I got saved and I got things right by God, God threw the tennis shoes away.” Hey, praise the Lord. The Lord doesn’t hang on the old, dirty, filthy tennis shoes. Even when David’s being chastened, he says, “You know what? God’s still my God. I’ve gotten this thing right. God’s hearing my prayers. In His time, He’ll lift my head up.” Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Our heads bowed, eyes are closed. It’d be a good night just to spend some time by the Lord. Maybe just loving on Him and thanking Him for His forgiveness, His shed blood. Oh, it’s what gives us the opportunity to just come back to Heavenly Father. Would you stand? We’ll have a word of prayer. You spend some time with the Lord. Would you draw nigh? Just love on Him tonight. Would you do that? Father, thank you for being about 10 million plus times better than I deserve. Thank you. Lord, I pray You use the truth tonight to fight against the devil. Put a sword in him. Help us to draw nigh. Be close to You, our Dad. Bless Your people tonight, Father. And we thank You for what You do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Original File: 2026-06-22 - Pastor Paul Chisgar - After Confession - Sunday PM - 06⧸21⧸2026