WHAT COULD I POSSIBLY GIVE GOD?

You will recognize with me that Psalm 51 is a Psalm of David, and it is widely believed that David wrote this Psalm after his great sin with Batheseba.

Verse 1, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, (If you and I could only see tonight that when we sin, it is God’s heart that we brake, it is against Him and Him alone that we sin.  You can almost sense that David is coming before God with a broken heart over the sin he has committed against God.  And David continues . . .) and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. (Now I want to draw your attention to verse 17) “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, (And what does he say?) O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Sacrifice was something that was very common in the Old Testament.  In Genesis chapter 4, Abel offered up a Lamb.  And the Bible said that God had respect unto Abel and his Sacrifice.

In Exodus chapter 12, the offering of the Passover is instituted, and God gave specific instructions on how the Lamb was to be sacrificed and his blood (hyssop) was to be sprinkled on the door post and lentils.

When Joshua lead the children of Israel across the Jordan River at Gilgal, he set up to monuments of stone, and once they were on the other side, he offered up a sacrifice.

We find in our Bibles that Job was a “Just man, who feared God and skewed evil.”  And the Bible says that Job offered a sacrifice to God every morning and evening for his children in case they had sinned.

So, in the Old Testament, Sacrifice is a very common thing.  In II Samuel chapter 24, when David had purchased the “Threshingplace of Arunah the Jebusite,” a very sacred place – David offered up a sacrifice.

We are led to believe, from reading Judges chapter 13, that when a sacrifice was offered, that when God accepted that sacrifice – they knew immediately!  The fire of Heaven would fall and consume their offering, so they knew immediately, before they ever left that altar, that God had accepted their sacrifice.

So what is it that we can Give to the Lord?  Since we do not have a lamb to offer (because Christ Himself became our “once and for all sacrifice”), what can we possibly offer God that will give us the assurance that He has accepted?   David said, “If that is what the Lord required, that is what he would give Him.”  David said, “The sacrifices of the Lord are a broken spirit and broken and a contrite heart.”

So what does that look like?  In the Old Testament, to offer the Lord a sacrifice, and to see the fire from Heaven fall and consume that sacrifice right in front of you, and to get up from that altar knowing that God has accepted what you offered and to smell the sweet savor of sacrifice.  Joy had to have flooded their souls to know that what they Offered God – and He accepted!

There is something that you and I can offer God, and folks, if you think about it, it ought to have us on shouting ground – To know that as lowly, and sinful and as ungodly as we are, to know that in this Book there is a sacrifice that we can bring to Him that He will not despise, that He will not regret – I don’t know about you, but that gives me hope!  To know that there is a sacrifice that I can offer God, that before I even finish writing this message, He’s promised that He would not refuse!

David says we can offer God a “Broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.”  David acknowledges that he is a Sinner.  He recognizes that he has hurt the very heart of God.  So he has built and altar, and is now ready to make a sacrifice.  David says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”  David says that if he could lay the sacrifice of a Lamb on the Altar, he would – but he says that’s not what God wants.  The “Sacrifices of God are a broken spirit – and broken and contrite heart.”

So David lays  broken spirit and a broken heart on the Altar before God – because he knows that is the sacrifice that God will accept!  You see, when we think about a Broken Heart, often we think about:

• A Broken Heart because of Trials and tribulations – and that can certainly break our hearts;
• We think about a broken heart because of Death and suffering – and that can break our hearts;
• We think about the unfaithfulness of a spouse, and no doubt that can break our hearts;

And sure, all these things can break our hearts – but that is not all that David is talking about here.

David says, “Lord, I want YOU to create in me a clean heart!  Lord, I want you to break open my contrite heart and see what is in there so that YOU can create in me a clean heart!”

I’m going to tell you right now, before we can get to the place that God can use us, we are going to have to get in a prayer closest somewhere and pray to God, “Lord, break open my heart, cause I don’t even know what is in there, and God once you have broken my heart – will you create in me a clean heart?”

In John chapter 12, a woman comes up behind Jesus and she has an alabaster box of ointments.  She breaks open that alabaster box and a swell smell of fragrances was smelt all over the house.  You see, if she would not have broken open that alabaster box – they would have never known what was in there.

And until we can lay our broken hearts on the altar of sacrifice – we will never know the sweet savor of sacrifice that God has accepted.

The problem we have in our society today, and in our homes today – and in our churches today is – we believe that once something has been broken – it’s no longer any good.

• If you brake a glass – you throw it away;
• If you brake a plate – you throw it away;

David said, “Lord, here is my broken heart – now create in me a Clean heart!”

You know, life can certainly break our hearts sometimes, but David is talking about more than that here.  David is saying, “Lord, here is my broken heart.  Lord take the bitterness out of my heart and make it sweet!”

Let me tell you something about a broken heart:

• When a broken heart prays – it prays doesn’t it?
• When a broken heart sings – it doesn’t sing for adoration – it sings!
• When a broken heart preaches – it preaches doesn’t it?

And folks, I’m gonna tell you that the problem with our church and many churches across this land is that we can go through the motions; we can open our mouths and say the right words; we can sing songs and put on the show – but our hearts are closed!  We have our hearts in a box.  And how can you ever know what’s in there until you lay it on the altar and ask God to brake it open?

The other day I went to our refrigerator and I ask Kim if the bologna in there was any good.  She said “I don’t know, you’ll have to open it and smell it.”  Boy, don’t you just hate that?

That’s how our hearts are .  The Bible says our heart are deceitful and desperately wicked.  Folks, we will never know what is in there until God opens it up!

That’s what’s wrong with our church today.  There are too many people walking around with their hearts closed up. And they’re just going through the motions.

David says You have got to build and Altar, because none of us deserve to be where we are today – NONE OF US.  And once we’ve built that Altar, we’ve got to bring a sacrifice.

Here’s what I know folks:

• I know that my heart is desperately wicked;
• I know that I do not deserve to be here;
• I know that I do not deserve to be a preacher or a pastor – I know that;
• I know that if I got what I deserved, I would be bound in a devil’s hell for all eternity with no way out.

BUT, I also know that I have laid a broken heart before God and asked HIM to create in me a clean heart!

Our problem is there are too many people that will not go before God and say, “Lord, I don’t know what is in my heart.  But God, I want you to brake it open and take out what’s wrong in my heart and replace it with what’s right!”

I remember we had a neighbor when I was a little boy that used to train beagles to chase rabbit’s.  And he was good at it.  I remember one time he had this dog and I remember him saying of this dog, “I will never be able to train this dog because his spirits been broken.  Oh, he may make a good house dog or a good pet, but he will never be able to train to hunt. ”  So he gave that dog to me and my siblings – and that was the first dog we ever had.

Well, what breaks a spirit?  I’ll tell you what breaks a Spirit – When the Lord puts you in a situation where you realize you are not as strong as you thought you were:

• When you think you’ve lived for Him long enough;
• When you feel like you’ve read your Bible enough;
• When you feel like you’ve prayed long and hard enough;
• When you’ve worked and done all you felt you could do.

So here you are, you think you’re strong enough and out of nowhere – God takes you to the place where you realize you’re just not strong enough – and what does that do to you?  It Breaks your spirit!

This is the place we get when we are man enough (or woman enough):

• To admit that we didn’t trust in prayer as much as we boasted we trusted in prayer;
• To admit that we didn’t read our Bibles as much as we boasted about reading our Bibles enough;
• When we admit that we didn’t live for Him as much as we boasted we lived for Him.

And you know what it does when you get to that place?  It breaks your spirit.  David said, “we need to get to the place where we have built the altar, and we have repented and ask God to create in us a new heart and renew in us the right spirit.”

David looked at his life and saw the sin in his life, and it crushed him.  He built the altar and repented before God and he laid his broken heart and spirit before God and said, “Lord – I know I ain’t no good, but will you clean my heart and renew in me the right spirit?”

There may be some reading this message that feel there is too much baggage in your past, that God can’t use or want you.  I promise you this – it you bring before God the sacrifice of a broken spirit and a broken contrite heart – GOD will accept your sacrifice – He promises it in His word.