Psalm 15, How Every Person Can Dwell With God
1. Every Person Fails To Meet The Standard Of God
2. Every Failure Can Be Forgiven By God
3. Every Failure Is An Invitation To Draw Near To God
4. Every Person Can Be Transformed By God
Psalm 15, How Every Person Can Dwell With God
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Psalm Chapter 15 is where we are at this evening.
Let's go ahead and read through.
It's one of the longest songs in the Bible.
Now I'm just kidding.
It's 5 verses long, so let's read through the whole song and then we'll consider what God has for us.
Psalm chapter 15.
It's a Psalm of David.
Verse one says, Lord, who may abide in your Tabernacle.
Who may dwell in your holy hill?
He who walks up brightly and works righteousness.
And speaks the truth in his heart.
He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbour, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.
In whose eyes, a vile person is despised.
But he honors those who fear the Lord.
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.
He does not put out his money at usury.
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
Here in Psalm chapter 15 we have this Psalm of David, where he ponders a question who gets to spend time with God.
What kind of person is able to dwell in the Tabernacle to dwell in the presence of God? And as he ponders this question, we can imagine a couple scenarios in David's life where he might be writing this song. Now, it doesn't tell us, and so we don't know for sure where David was at.
And what he was considering specifically, as he wrote this, but.
We know of David in his early in his reign he desired to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and so he attempted to do so.
And of course there was a great tragedy because they tried to transport the Ark of the Covenant incorrectly and in the process of trying to.
To move it there, you remember Uza held out his hand to try to prevent the arc from falling off the cards, and the Lord struck him and he died in the midst of this whole celebration and parade as they were bringing.
That the.
The Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. And so there was this occasion in David's life where he wanted to bring the presence of God clothes, and then it just fell apart. And there was great disaster, but he didn't give up. And although he was discouraged and he walked away and and.
Wasn't sure what to do next after some time and a little bit of digging into the scriptures, he understood the proper way to transport using the levite's and carrying it on their shoulders as God had prescribed.
Saved and so a few months later he was able to and he successfully brought in the Tabernacle.
Sorry the Ark of the Covenant to the tent that he had set up in Jerusalem and was able then to have the Ark of the Covenant where the presence of God dwelt there in the capital city, and really began to.
Put God at the center of their nation of their life and back into the right relationship with God and fellowship with God in the way that he had called them to.
And so you could imagine David, perhaps after that first attempt and there was tragedy, David, walking away, saying.
Wow, just by touching the ark of the Covenant this guy is struck down dead.
God, who may abide in your Tabernacle.
Who is able?
If if you are that holy.
If you are that pure that even just the very touch on the outside to try to do a good thing to prevent the ark from falling even.
Even just that little.
If that is enough.
To strike us down dead God who can dwell in your Tabernacle, who may dwell in your holy hill, who can really be in your presence if you are that holy?
Or perhaps it's not that occasion that David was writing this.
It could have been other times where the priests are attending to their responsibilities inside the Tabernacle, or maybe at the tent where he had set up for the Ark.
There they were kind of in two separate places during the life of David.
Perhaps he's thinking about the priests and a little bit envious is maybe not the exact right word, but but the priests get to go into the Tabernacle in a way that David never could.
They got to go into and and light the maintain the the candles right and and replace the showbread.
They they got to be engaged.
Where David he?
Could go in worship.
He could offer sacrifices he didn't get to enter in and then also he had to go back to his responsibilities to be king.
And so, so he was limited in his time and in his access, and so it could be that he's longing in another Psalm, David says, uh, a day in your courts is better than 1000 elsewhere and and so we can understand the heart of David, that boy he just he wanted to be in the presence of God.
Perhaps he longed to have the kind of access like the priests and the Levites had.
Perhaps he wanted to he longed for the opportunity, the time to be able to to be at the Tabernacle continually, and so he's considering who can do that?
Who can be in that place and dwell on your holy.
Or perhaps he's just captivated by the holiness of God.
Just awestruck at what took place in attempting to bring the Ark into Jerusalem and and so it has him wondering.
Well, again, we don't know for sure. We could imagine and put it at several places in David's life, but regardless of the police.
The question remains.
Who may abide in your Tabernacle?
As we consider Psalm Chapter 15 this evening, I've titled the Message How every person can do well with God.
Here we go again.
No can you do me a favor.
I have a water on that table.
I forgot to bring it up.
I have cough drops.
Thank you.
It's just see it's already cleared up.
It's just every once in a while like there's like one spot that's lacking lubricant and.
It grinds to a halt, OK?
How every person can dwell with God.
As I was looking over some chapter 15.
I was considering a common mistake that we can have, especially as we're spending time in the Old Testament.
There's a common misunderstanding it and passages like this sometimes, kind of.
Send us on the wrong course if we don't process it appropriately.
If we don't factor in.
The whole council.
Of God's word.
Because the question here that David asked is who can basically dwell with God, right?
Who can be in the presence of God?
And then he goes on to list these characteristics.
That is, the qualifications or the the characteristics of someone who is able to be in the presence of God.
But sometimes our tendency as we look at these.
Things is to.
Fall into the trap of attempting a work based relationship with God.
Where we read this list of things and say, OK, that's the kind of person I want to be, so let me make a list of all these things and every day I'm going to try to do these things.
And essentially try to earn my place in the presence of God.
Earn the opportunity to dwell in relationship with God.
And as we look at these things tonight, I I want to make sure that we all understand that this is not what God is saying here in Psalm chapter 15.
That God is not giving a list of hard things to do and work hard to do these things.
And and if you do them well enough then you can earn your place.
In the presence of God, and so I want to walk you through four thoughts considering Psalm chapter 15 not necessarily breaking out a thought you know verse by verse or an outline from the chapter, but.
But just revisiting Psalm chapter 15 through a couple different thoughts to consider and to understand.
And so the first thing for us to consider as we look at Psalm Chapter 15 is that every person
Fails to meet the standard of God.
Here's the first thing I think we need to read through Psalm 15 and walk away with.
I think the appropriate thing for us to do is to read through this chapter, read through these qualifications, and settle with the recognition that I do not measure up in any of these standards.
Again, David is asking the question he's pondering.
Considering verse one Lord who may abide in your Tabernacle.
Who may dwell in your holy hill?
Who is able to who?
Who is that kind of caliber of person?
Who is the one that has the privilege?
The honor, the opportunity to to dwell, to stay in your presence?
And so he starts out saying in verse two he who walks uprightly.
He who walks.
And and right away we should start to get.
A little bit uncomfortable.
Because uprightly and walking uprightly, if we're honest, is not something we do very well.
Walking uprightly is something that we.
Fall short in and will battle continually.
Commentator Albert Barnes
Points out the word here rendered uprightly, and the Hebrews perfectly means that which is complete in all its parts, where no part is wanting or defective.
It speaks about a perfection, but not so much a sinless perfection as in a maturity type of perfection.
And so walking Uprightly is the idea of having a morality that is born out of maturity, and so maybe you.
Can think about.
It this way, do you always behave maturely?
In light of spiritual things.
Are you ever immature in your behavior in the way that you walk?
I think of course.
Again, if we're honest.
We should all be recognizing and starting to come to the place that in regards to the question of who may dwell in the presence of God.
Well, if it requires always being mature.
I'm in trouble.
He who walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks the truth.
In his heart so walking, uh brightly it talks about the the character right the the morality that we have, the maturity that we have and then works righteousness.
That's the actions that we take, and then the speaks the truth.
But then also in his heart remember how Jesus?
Pointed out in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 5 through 7.
There's a lot of things that we do outwardly, and we're very careful too.
Maintain the outward appearance and outward behavior.
Speaking the truth, you know, kind of speaking to that outward behavior.
But then in his heart and and how Jesus pointed out that it's not enough to just have the.
The appearance of the outward obedience of these things.
But are you always?
Honest and genuine, and speaking the truth, not just out of your tongue but even.
Within your own heart, are you honest with yourself?
And the things that you say do they accurately reflect?
Or do you ever say something that you don't mean?
Or do you ever say something that you know to be false?
Does your speech match?
Your heart.
Pastor Warren Wiersbe points out these three keywords here walk, work, and speak.
Are present participles indicating that the dedicated believer is constantly obeying the Lord and seeking.
To please him.
And so the idea here he who walks uprightly, it's not just.
10% of the time walks uprightly 50% of the time walks uprightly, but is always walking uprightly. Do you always walk uprightly?
Do you always work righteousness?
Do you always speak the truth in your heart?
Is that the kind of person?
And that you are.
And again.
The first
Consideration as we work through these things is every person fails to meet the standard of God just in the first verse.
We understand.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, right?
That that is the reality that we need to embrace.
As we work through Psalm Chapter 15.
Going on to verse 3.
He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor.
Nor does he.
Take up a reproach against his friend.
So David lists a few more things.
No backbiting.
Do you ever talk?
About people behind their back differently than you talk about them when they're present.
If you always say the same thing whether a person is present or not present, then you're in the clear and you're one of those.
Perhaps if you measure up to all the other areas, but assuming that you know later on James tells us if we don't sin in our tongue, then we're perfect in every way.
Right so.
Backbiting, speaking the truth in our heart we we know the tongue is an issue.
And we know we're going to fail in that. And yes, we are duplicitous. We say one thing to someone's face and then when they're gone, we say something different.
We fall short.
We fail to meet the standard.
Of God, we don't measure up.
Nor does evil to his neighbor.
Do you ever harm your neighbor?
Hopefully that doesn't.
You know, I don't have to like warn you about hitting people or beating people up, or you know that kind of thing, but.
Doing wrong taking, what's not yours.
Looking out for your own good at the expense of others around you.
Is doing evil or doing harm too?
Your neighbor, but then notice this one.
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend, and this one is interesting, especially.
In our day and age.
The idea of taking up her approach.
You might think of it as like starting a rumor.
Right like you like mounts a campaign to slander somebody, right?
That that's maybe what comes to mind.
But really, the idea here and the idea of taking up our approach.
It's not so much talking about inventing.
A reproach against your friend.
But it's believing.
Of reproach
The word can also be translated instead of teacup that could be enduring a reproach.
Against his friend.
That is, someone telling you something bad about somebody.
And you don't endure it.
You say no, I refuse to believe evil of my friend.
I refuse to believe they've done wrong.
Now, that doesn't mean we refuse to believe to the extent that we ignore you know everything that's practical and reasonable.
Commentator Albert Barton says if he's constrained to believe it, it's only because the evidence becomes so strong that he cannot resist it and is believing it is contrary to all the desires of his heart.
So the idea here is that we only after a great fight, finally cave in and believe when there is no other possibility.
Whenever our approach is spoken of against.
A friend.
A neighbor.
You know there is.
A great tendency I would suggest in our society to believe reproaches that are announced and proclaimed and spread all over the place, and.
The kind of person who.
Picks those up, receives them, believes them, grabs hold of them, spreads them on that kind of person, doesn't dwell in the presence of God.
It's the one who does not.
Take up our approach.
Against his friend and so here there's a.
Few things here about your neighbor, not backbiting.
Your neighbor not doing any kind of harm to your neighbor, not believing you for reports about your neighbor.
And so it's important to understand who is my neighbor.
Well, Jesus was asked that question and Luke Chapter 10 and he gives the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the point, your neighbor is anybody that you ever interact with.
And so here is the qualification.
To dwell in the presence of God, to have access to God.
To be able to hang out with him.
Never backbite anybody with your tongue and never do anything harmful to anyone around you and never believe a false report.
About anyone.
And if you can measure up to all those, then you're good and again point number one.
Every person fails to meet the standard of God.
We do not measure up.
We fall short.
And we do not deserve to be in the presence of God.
Verse 4.
In whose eyes, a vile person is despised.
But he honors those who fear the Lord.
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.
There's a contrast here despising a vile person but honoring those who fear the Lord.
It's interesting because this is talking about how you esteem and your own internal opinion about other people.
Do you always?
People around you.
In whose eyes, a vile person is despised.
Now if a vile person deceives you, and so you wanted them because you're fooled by them.
Then you've failed in this.
But then also there is the temptation because the world does not always despise VIOP persons, and so there's great.
Pressure there's great popularity in honoring.
Persons who are vile.
But the person?
Who is able to?
Abide in the Tabernacle and dwell in God's Holy Hill. Doesn't get confused by those things, and always has an accurate.
Perspective and evaluation.
So that the vile person is despised.
And the ones who fear the Lord, it's those.
Who are honored?
Well, the last part of verse four talks about her promises.
Hughes swears to his own hurt and does not change.
Do you always keep your promises?
That's the question to consider.
The idea here of swearing to your own hurt is you make a promise.
You make a commitment.
You enter into an agreement of some kind.
Later on, in the midst of you know events being carried out, you find out, oh man, I I didn't understand all the factors and if I hold to this agreement, it's actually going.
To hurt me.
I thought this agreement was going to, you know, move me forward in my.
Plan for retirement or plan for success or victory like I thought it was going to advance my career right?
It turns out no, this plan, this this agreement that I made, it's it's going to hurt my career.
It's not.
Going to advance my career.
Maybe I can get out of.
This commitment that I made.
And the idea here is.
No, you made the commitment.
You hold that commit if it's to your own hurt, you hold that commitment.
If it's going to cost you money instead of making you money.
You hold that commitment.
Swears to his own hurt and does not change.
We break our promises.
When it's, you know, mildly inconvenient, I know I said I would be there.
I know I said I would, you know do that or I would give that and you know but you know I.
Stubbed my pinky toe a little bit, you know.
I was getting up in the morning I hit just hit it on the side of the bed and so I.
I'm sorry I can't make it.
He who swears to his own herd and does not change is the one who can dwell.
In the Holy Hill and abide in his Tabernacle.
Verse 5.
He does not put out his money at usury.
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He does these things shall never be moved.
The idea of usury is taking advantage of somebody charging them the.
The right word is skipping me.
Expletive is not the right word exploit, exploiting people in their weakness.
Being a credit card.
Company, I'll just rephrase it that way.
That's easier to say.
Usury is someone comes in need.
They they need to borrow, but but you take advantage of their need.
You know they're desperate and so they will make deals that they can never pay back.
They'll make deals because they're desperate and so you take advantage of that too.
Advance yourself.
That's the idea of taking money at usury.
You're not just helping, you're actually not helping at all, but instead you're exploiting the poor and their situation and taking advantage.
And so the question is, do you ever take advantage of people?
For your own advancement, for your own benefit.
And the same thing is true about taking a bribe against the innocent, so corrupting justice, corrupting, you know, any kind of right and wrong.
But but again, the the motive here is what I get out of it.
The bribe that I get.
Out of it and.
So sure, you know.
I'll vote for you.
You're gonna give me a.
$1000, so I'll take a bribe and.
Declare the innocent guilty that that this is something that.
The righteous person or the person who dwells in the presence of God does not do.
It doesn't take advantage of those who are in need.
He doesn't ignore the injustice towards the innocent, especially not in, you know, attempting to to advance himself or receive.
Some kind of profit or benefit from it.
And so here's
This list of things that David says this is the qualifications.
This is what it takes.
To abide in the Tabernacle, to dwell in the Holy Hill.
So first one is the question.
The rest of the verses are his working through those characteristics.
And I suggest to you as we look at this.
First time around Psalm Chapter 15, who may dwell in your holy hill.
The answer that we must.
Confess is nobody.
Nobody qualifies.
To dwell in the presence of God.
Nobody qualifies to abide in the Holy Hill.
From Jesus.
It's so important for us to remember this.
Especially, you know, of course.
We need to understand this in order to begin a right relationship with God.
But as we walk with God, and as we progress and continue to be around the things of God there, there can be a little bit of a distance that develops between us and this point, and we can become.
Like the religious leaders.
Righteous in our own eyes and.
Not really understand.
As we look at these things.
I mean it's possible.
Perhaps you read Psalm Chapter 15 and you're like, alright?
I'm in pretty good shape.
Not too bad.
Yep, OK, I can do well.
In the presence of God.
And I would suggest that there's a little bit of a, uh, you know, maybe not a red warning light, but a little bit of a yellow cautionary like.
You might want to invite the Lord to do a little bit of scouring in your heart, because you might have a little bit of a callus where there shouldn't be a little bit of resistance to some of the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the need for you to.
Be reminded.
That every person fails to meet the standard of God.
It's the classic passage.
Romans, chapter 3.
Paul says, but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed.
Being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference.
For all have sinned.
And fall short of the glory of God.
Pause for dramatic effect.
Being justified freely by his grace.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Who may dwell in the Holy hill, nobody.
Apart from Jesus.
But there's a righteousness of God apart from the law, that he has revealed.
And it is designed this way because.
If it was our efforts in these things.
None of us would ever have any hope.
Any opportunity because we've all sinned and we fall short of that standard.
We cannot dwell in the Holy Hill.
But by faith in Jesus.
We are justified freely.
By his grace.
And that word justified brings us to the second thought to consider tonight.
And that is.
That every failure can be forgiven by God.
Every failure can be forgiven by God.
Lord, who may dwell.
Or abide in your Tabernacle, who may dwell in your holy hill.
He who walks uprightly.
I don't always behave maturely.
I'm not always.
Mature in the way that I handle situations.
In the way that I.
Handle spiritual things, morality.
And here works righteousness.
I don't always do the right thing.
And he speaks the truth in his heart.
I don't always.
I'm not always honest.
I'm not always genuine and I I sometimes say things that I don't mean and.
Sometimes I deceive myself and sometimes I lie to myself and I lie to others.
He does not backbite with his tongue, oh Lord, I I don't always.
Treat people the same way when they're present or when they're gone talking behind their back, oh, sometimes.
But Harvey is not around boy.
I just hope he doesn't listen to the tape because you know, he'll hear what I really think about him.
Nor does evil to his neighbour, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.
As we walk through these things.
There there.
I would suggest.
Needs to be a little bit of.
A sense of.
Failure, failure, failure failure.
In whose eyes, a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord.
He swears to his own hurt and does not change.
Failure failure failure.
And it's not like.
Well, sometimes I do those things, but the requirement here is the always walking uprightly.
Always having the right perspective.
And so.
Looking at these characteristics.
We need.
With our sense of failure to be reminded.
Of what it means to be justified.
We need to be reminded that every failure can be forgiven by God.
Every failure.
Even if it's, you know.
The same one from verse 3 multiple times.
Throughout the day.
Every failure.
Can be forgiven.
John tells us in first John Chapter 2.
My little children.
These things I write to you so that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins.
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
He himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
As you look at this list, if you find yourself.
Saying, yeah, that's a that's a sin issue for me.
If anyone sins.
John says we have an advocate.
Jesus Christ.
The righteous and he himself is the propitiation that is he himself took on the penalty for our sin.
So that we.
Can be justified.
So that I can stand before God, just as if I had always walked uprightly in every case occasion, without exception.
And I can stand before God.
As if I had always worked righteousness and spoken the truth in my heart.
And I can approach God as if I had never done any backbiting with my tongue, never done any harm or wrong to my neighbor, never believed any false report or evil reproach against a friend.
I can approach God with the.
Position that I've always despised evil people and honored those who fear the Lord.
And I've always kept every promise that I've ever made and I've never taken advantage of anybody in their poverty or in some injustice that is going on.
I can approach God justified, just as if I had never done.
Any of these things not even one time?
Because Jesus Christ.
Is the propitiation for our sins.
Who may dwell in your holy hill?
Apart from Jesus.
But in Jesus.
Because every failure.
Even failures that we should have known better.
We certainly knew better.
Failures that we've repeated.
Over and over.
Every failure can be forgiven.
And so we have by faith in Jesus, by the grace of God.
We have been justified.
The author of Hebrews puts it this way.
This man talking about Jesus after, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down at the right hand of God.
From that time, waiting till his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Jesus with one sacrifice.
And then he sat down.
That means his work was done at the cross.
His work was done.
He's kicking back on the throne.
With his feet up.
Talking to the father, interceding on our behalf.
But but his work is done.
Until his enemies are made his footstool, that is.
Till the word brings about the end of days and Jesus returns.
And he's able to do that because.
With one offering.
He has perfected forever one offering he has perfected.
He has justified with one offering.
You and I.
May approach.
The holy hill.
The presence of God.
Perfected forever, those who are being.
Sanctified, who gets to dwell with God?
That's the question David is pondering.
As he walks through those things, I would suggest to you.
The person who gets to dwell with God is not the person who pretends they meet all these qualifications.
The person who gets to dwell with God is not the one who works really.
Hard to earn or deserve.
To be in the presence of God by trying to keep all of these things and walking in all of these ways.
The person that gets to dwell in the presence of God is not the person that's most improved, right?
You might think, well, you know.
I mean, I'm not.
I don't keep it perfectly, but look at the improvement that I've made so many good, you know strides forward.
I'm sure God is impressed by how much I've changed, right?
How much better?
I am now?
The most improved person doesn't get to dwell in the presence of God.
It's the person who acknowledges failure.
And receives God forgiveness by faith.
That's the person.
That gets to dwell in the presence of God, and that brings me to my third.
Thought for us to consider tonight.
Here in Psalm 15, every failure.
Is an invitation to draw nearer to God.
Who gets to dwell in the presence of God?
Again, it's easy to kind of take our minds down.
A path that really leads us into works based.
Relationship or fellowship with God.
Looking at all of these things.
We can endeavor or try to grit our teeth and determine to be better in these things.
We can work hard in these things, right?
We can try to measure up to all of these things.
But the thing I would ask you to consider.
Tonight is looking at all these areas.
That we fail in.
Understand that each time we fail.
It's an invitation.
From God to draw near to him.
I mean, it's just it's so brilliant I I can't.
I can't express.
Enough like God it God designed it in such an incredible way.
The way to get forgiveness.
Is to run to God.
Like think about this for a second and and this isn't unique to right now.
OK, we're in the new covenant, so you know this is very just for us, right?
Stop and think about the whole sacrificial system that got established in the Levitical covenant.
Remember that was designed by God.
And what did God do when he designed that he taught the Israelites OK?
Every time you fail.
You must come hang out, hang out with me.
That that's what he built into the sacrificial system.
God didn't say OK.
Every time you fail you can't partake of Passover.
You're on time out.
You stay away 'cause you failed.
You can't come to the Tabernacle, you can't worship.
You can't enjoy fellowship.
Because you failed, you'll lose her.
Stay away from me.
No, God builds a system.
Remember that forgiveness was never by the animal sacrifice.
Forgiveness was always by faith.
That's the argument of Paul in the Book of Romans.
The author of Hebrews, the Blood of Bulls and Goats never took away sin.
It was the response to the instruction of God in the people, their their response and their obedience.
To him, their faith believing God at his word and drawing near to him, even though they had failed.
Faith in God in his word and and believing, and receiving the forgiveness of God as they drew nearer.
That's where the forgiveness was found.
And so God designed this system that every time you fail, you come and offer a sacrifice.
You come to the Tabernacle.
You come to the temple where my presence is.
You spend time in my presence.
You spend time with me.
You spend time in worship.
You spend time in fellowship and your visit with God resets the relationship.
You walk away from that.
Forgiven, cleansed washed.
A clean start, a fresh start.
Like this is what God.
Designed the sacrificial system to do.
Every failure God says Israelites, you draw nearer.
What if?
You handled every failure that way.
What if every time you failed?
It was a clear invitation from God to you that you ran to God because.
You failed.
It's so contrary many times to what's in our heart.
We want the time out.
We put ourselves on time out.
We stay away from God.
We expect to not be hearing from God and not not to be blessed by God because well, we failed.
And we misunderstand the whole system that God set up.
The whole point is.
When you fail.
There's a wide open door.
Between you and the Lord God saying, come.
You failed come.
Now, that doesn't mean when we're doing good.
God saying, stay away right?
That's not saying that, but at the same time that it's there's there's such a kind of a expected response in our own hearts and minds that.
There's distance.
That we are creating.
Because of failure.
And God's heart is.
Don't put any distance between us.
Remove the distance between us.
Every time you fail.
I quoted John earlier here again, first, John chapter one.
If we say that we have no sin.
We deceive ourselves.
And the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins.
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins.
To Richard.
He will forgive us and cleanse us of all, no.
Who are we confessing our sins to him?
How do you confess your sins to him?
You got to run to him after every failure and confess your sins.
And when you do.
He's faithful and just to cleanse you.
From all unrighteousness.
And so it's.
Still the same.
Every failure.
Is an invitation to draw near to God.
And so we get to he who walks uprightly.
Do you always behave maturely and you know, do the the right thing?
No, I don't.
So what do I do?
Because that's the kind of person who gets to dwell in the Tabernacle and abide in the holy hill.
So I guess I have to stay away because I don't measure up.
God says no.
You failed.
You didn't walk uprightly, he did what was wrong.
Here's what you need to do.
Come confess.
Receive forgiveness, spend time in my presence.
Spend time with me, spend time worshipping me.
Spend time at my feet.
Let your relationship with me be reset.
And now you're justified.
And you get to dwell.
In his holy hill and abide in his Tabernacle.
You get to behave as if you had always walked uprightly, because when you failed you went to God and you admitted it and you confessed it and you're forgiven by faith in him.
And so now you get to relate to him as if you had never failed, because when you failed you're honest with it and you approached him and you.
Asked for forgiveness.
When you fail and you pretend like you didn't fail or you try to justify that, I'll hear you know it's OK that I failed or it's reasonable that I failed.
I don't have to apologize.
I don't have to confess or I'm I'm just going to stay and put myself on timeout like all of those alternatives.
Keep you away from God and put distance between you and God.
But when you acknowledge failure.
And understand that failure is an invitation to draw near to God and be real with him and say, God, I haven't walked uprightly.
I've been backbiting with my tongue.
I've done evil too.
My neighbor I've honored the wrong kind of person and despised.
Those who honor you.
I've broken my promises.
I failed.
And if I recognize that that is an invitation to draw near to God.
And I confess.
And acknowledge my sin to him.
Then I'm justified.
I'm cleanse and then I get to dwell in the presence of God.
As if I had not failed, not even once.
Now there's different kinds of failure.
Some failure in our lives.
Is unknown to us.
It's after the fact that it.
Comes to our attention.
Back in the past.
24 hours or the past week or the past month or the past 10 years.
There's this failure that I was unaware of.
This behavior, this attitude, this mindset.
This action, that's activity, it happens all the time.
We are sinful to the core, and so a lot of our sin happens.
Without us making a conscious decision about it, we're just completely oblivious to it.
But when God shines the light on it.
And that failure becomes known again, we don't justify it or explain away, or I didn't understand, or I didn't know.
Take it as an invitation and we go to God.
And we confess it God.
I have been behaving poorly.
I've had a bad attitude.
I've been holding onto this.
I've been doing that.
It's wrong, forgive me.
And he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Some failures are unknown to us until the Lord reveals them.
Then there's also some failures that are deliberate.
Where we have a choice, we know the choice we've recognized which ones right and which ones wrong, and we choose the wrong choice.
And so if you feel that way, God says Stateway, you can never approach me again.
Now, that's not what he says.
If we confess our sins.
He's faithful and just to cleanse our sins.
And all unrighteousness.
He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness known, unknown, deliberate, accidental.
We're gonna fail in every way possible.
Who made dwell in your holy hill nobody.
Apart from Jesus.
And in Jesus, as we walk with him, there's still going to be failure.
We still don't earn and we still don't deserve to have access to the presence of God.
But if we will learn to let those failures drive us to God instead of away from God.
There's going to be a transforming work.
That God will do in our lives.
Consider these words from the author of.
Hebrews and Hebrews 10.
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest.
By the blood of Jesus.
By a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil that.
Is his flesh.
And having a high priest over the House of God.
Let us draw near.
With a true heart in full assurance of faith.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.
And our bodies washed with pure water.
The holiest is that place in the temple of the Tabernacle, where the presence of God dwells.
And here we see.
You can have boldness to enter the holiest.
Now, by your efforts done by your merits, not because you measure up, but by the blood of Jesus.
Approaching God in your failure in confession.
Acknowledging the truth by faith in Jesus Christ gives you boldness.
As he says in verse 20.
Two to draw nearer.
Full assurance of faith.
Sprinkled from an evil conscience, washed with pure water.
Every failure.
Is an invitation from God to draw near to him.
And here's the thing that God does.
We talked about justified.
The final thought.
Goes towards this idea of being sanctified.
Every person can be transformed by God.
Justified is I stand before God as if I had never sinned, not even one time.
It's my position as a believer in Jesus.
Even though I have failed, even though I will continue to fail.
God relates to me as if I.
Have never failed.
Because of Jesus.
But sanctified.
It's a little bit different.
Sanctification is that.
Concept of our behavior.
Being changed as we walk with God.
And it's the process of these failures that I experience.
Become less frequent.
Not because I'm so determined or because I work so hard because you know, I'm so great, but because God is changing me as I spend time with him.
Sanctification is a process, and it's also I would say cooperation with God.
It's not just something that happens passively.
While we refuse to do anything.
But it's a work that God does in us.
We can't do it apart from God.
But also we can't just sit there and not expect God to do all the work with no effort of our own.
We we cooperate with God.
To experience his transformation.
As we spend time with him.
Pastor J.
Vernon McGee puts it this way.
Who's going to stand before God?
Those who have had a faith in God that has produced a life of righteousness.
So it's not that we.
Live in a constant state of failure and we never progress at all.
We never become perfect and we become we progress.
I would say much slower than we would hope.
Most of the time.
And we need to be patient and.
Keep using those failures to trigger us to go back to.
The Lord over and over and over again.
But through the process of time.
And time with God and cooperation with God there is.
Change and transformation that takes place.
Paul talks about this a little bit in Romans 8.
He says we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
So if you just keep on living in the flesh.
Not being transformed, not changing at all, just obeying every craving and desire that your fleshly sinful nature has.
You will die, he says.
But having been born again and having the spirit.
There's a conflict now.
There's a change, and as you have those decision points.
By the spirit, not in your own strength, not through your own efforts, but by the working of the Holy Spirit in your life.
You put to death the deeds of the body and you start saying no to things that you've previously said, not yes to.
And by the spirit, by the working of God in us.
There is.
A transformation that takes place and every person.
Can be transformed by God in this way.
There is our part. There is God's part.
There is the.
Continual running back to God and failure with confession and repentance.
That's part of it.
That's part of the transformation that time with God and his presence is part of how he works in us.
There's the acknowledgement of sin and the acknowledgement of our helplessness to change.
I've tried everything to break this habit.
I've tried everything you know to to change this behavior.
This mindset, this attitude and So what I need your help to change.
I can't change, I've I've done everything, I I'm I'm.
At the end of.
My idea is.
And God, I I need you.
To work this change in me.
And God says yes.
I will work this change in you.
Maybe in a different timeline than you prefer.
And not without your cooperation, and not without your.
Decision making in the process.
Also, you must choose to obey as I give you that opportunity.
But keep running to me, keep spending time with me every time you fail in that, just run back to me.
And no.
You can be transformed by God.
The fruits of the spirit.
Galatians chapter 5.
It's fruit that is produced.
As the tree abides right as the branches abide.
In the same way, Lord who may abide in your Tabernacle.
Who may do well in your holy hill?
Here's the qualifications.
We don't measure up.
But because I fail, I can run to God.
And asked.
For cleansing by faith in Christ.
And then abide because.
Now and justify it.
And the more I fail, the more I run to God.
And my relationship with God develops and increases because I fail so much.
And because I fail so much and spend so much time in the presence of God.
My life is starting to be transformed.
Because it's the presence of God, it's abiding in his Tabernacle and on the Holy Hill.
Where God does his work in my heart, making me more like him.
The final part of verse five says he does.
These things shall never be moved.
If you will do these things.
You won't be moved.
You won't be kicked out, kicked out of the Tabernacle.
You won't be evicted.
Say, alright, you've had enough time here.
Get out.
You can't spend time in the presence of God anymore.
If you recognize every person fails.
To meet the standard of God.
But every failure can be forgiven.
And every failure is an invitation to draw nearer to God.
Then you can be with him.
You can enter into his presence.
You can draw near to him with confidence with faith in Christ.
And experience his transformation.
Who gets to dwell with God, not the person who pretends these things.
Not the person who earns it or deserves it.
The person who fails acknowledges it.
Confesses it
And runs to God.
That person.
Is the one who gets to dwell with the Lord.
And they will never be moved.
But we thank you.
That you've designed it in such.
A way.
That we even have a chance Lord to get to know you and spend time with you.
If it were completely up to us.
If it depended.
On us earning it or deserving it or.
An average of how good or bad we were, Lord, we we would just be desperately lost.
But because you?
Designed it so that when we fail.
We get to draw near to you.
But we have the opportunity help us.
To not pretend.
Help us to be real with you.
To run to you and our failures and our shortfalls.
Help us to seek you.
To realize our need for you continually.
And to not just dwell in your presence here and there, and from time to time.
But Lord, that we would abide there with you.
In constant communication, constant fellowship.
By faith.
By your grace.
Receiving your goodness.
And your work in us.
I pray this in Jesus name.