​​Welcome  to    Joy By Surprise

The result of this illicit sexual affair was, as is in every case of adultery, catastrophic! In king David's case it led to deception, murder, rape and civil war; problems which plagued the household of David's family and his kingdom for centuries. But this morning my sermon is not about adultery or any other sin. It is about repentance, confession, mercy, joy and testimony.

1. Repentance
 

Repentance is a rare word. You'll not hear it very often these days. But the fact is that repentance is the very first step to eternal life in the Kingdom of YaHuWaH. It matters not whether your particular sin is adultery, idolatry, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, murder, theft, deceit or covetousness; if there is no repentance in your heart (mind), you remain guilty of that particular sin.

There is no doubt that king David, when challenged by the prophet Gad, didn't try to cover up his sin. He openly confessed it before all Israel as an 'evil thing' and desperately wanted forgiveness. 'Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow…blot out all mine iniquities.' This is the language of true Repentance. Notice that sin, any sin, is committed primarily against the Almighty. He is the One that suffers the most and He (YaHuWaH ) is Satan's primary target when any human being sins. 'Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.' Because of this fact, a sinner - every sinner - who wants forgiveness must confess that sin to YaHuWaH. Not to a priest - but to Elohim!

2. Confession to YaHuWaH... or Priest?

The practice of confessing sins to a priest was adopted from paganism!

3. YaHuWaH 's MERCY

Was king David forgiven? Bear in mind that he had just committed several extremely grievous sins, deceit, adultery and murder! He had taken Uriah the Hittite's wife. Uriah was a foreigner who had joined the army of Israel and was at that time risking his life in the battlefield. David slept with Uriah's wife and when he found out that she was pregnant he had Uriah murdered! It was a ghastly affair which he couldn't hide and YaHuWaH was very angry.

David truly repented, before Elohim and all Israel, as those verses tell. But still Elohim was extremely angry and probably hurt beyond measure. Could He forgive? Would He forgive? Should He forgive? If its one divine trait we humans should never forget it's YaHuWaH 's Mercy (Note03/01). YaHuWaH, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, is a merciful Being; and His mercy endures for all eternity.

Yes king David was forgiven. His deep repentance and cry for mercy stirred the heart of the Almighty and David was forgiven. But though he was forgiven, the repercussions of his evil deeds continued:

• Bath-sheba's child died (2 Sam.12-19)
• David's son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, who was Absalom's full sister (2 Sam.13)
• Later Absalom, another of David's sons, slew Amnon his half-brother. (2 Sam.13)
• Finally Absalom revolted against his father, seized the throne and publicly insulted his father David. (2 Sam.16)
• Civil war broke out in Israel and in a battle that ensued between David's and Absalom's troops, Absalom was killed. (2 Sam.18)

All these terrible events happened in direct fulfilment of the prophet Gad's words in 2 Sam:12:10:

'But,' someone will ask ' how can we say that David's sin was forgiven if all these terrible things happened as a consequence of that sin?' The answer is: The main consequence of David's blatant sin was eternal death! When David repented, that sentence of eternal death was quashed, annulled and forgiven. But the repercussions, the here-and-now results of David's sin still occurred.

Like an ugly scar which remains long after a deep wound has healed, those repercussions continued. What lessons can we learn from these events? We learn these:

• That Elohim punishes blatant sin. It matters not whether one is a king or a commoner. Blatant sin is always punished by Elohim; and its effects often run to three or four generations! (Exodus 20:5)
• YaHuWaH, the Elohim of Israel, is an extremely merciful Being. Mercy is one of His best-known traits. Not only is He merciful; but His mercy is everlasting. It endureth forever! Open your Bible at Psalm 136 and note that everyone of its 26 verses ends with the words: 'for his mercy endureth for ever.'
• Sin's repercussions reach down through time unto the third and fourth generation!

There is a great truth here. A truth every sinner would do well to remember. That truth is this; if a sinner repents - truly repents like king David did - then the Almighty Elohim of Israel will surely forgive. See Lesson 3 for more information concerning Forgiveness.

4. The Joy of Salvation

Real joy is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is a divine product. Nothing on earth can produce 'real joy.' It comes to us from the Father above. To be sure we humans can become excited and deliriously happy with many different things; but this excitement and pleasure is short-lived. Real joy is not physical excitement, thrill or surface happiness; neither is it short-lived. It is the deep down flow of true satisfaction and peace in knowing that all is well with your soul; that your name is in the Book of Life. Real joy is a by-product of YaHuWaH 's Mercy. It is everlasting and is sometimes referred to as the Joy of Salvation!

When king David sinned, he lost that inner Peace and Joy. After he repented he prayed desperately for YaHuWaH to restore it to his heart. Here are his words:

Ponder those keywords: 'joy,' 'rejoicing in the bones,' 'gladness,' 'a clean heart,' 'a right spirit,' 'the Joy of salvation' and 'Thy free Spirit.' Can you see that these all go together? In other words, it is not possible to have only some of these things. You either have them all or you have none. It is an absolute fact that those who have been forgiven their sins will experience the Joy of Salvation.

The opposite is also true: those who continue in sin and refuse to repent will not experience the Joy of Salvation. These go through life experiencing silent frustration and inner misery; even though on the surface they may sometimes appear to be bubbling with pleasure.

When a person is converted and begins to experience the Joy of Salvation, he/she is like a lighted candle. People around begin to notice a difference in their lives. As the Savior so aptly described it:

6. Spiritual Sacrifices
 

May the Almighty grant that we all will repent of our sins, confess them to Him, then experience the Joy of Salvation. Finally we should: