As Far as East from West

When our souls become dry, we can stir up our affections by remembering the goodness and generosity of our great God.  

We grow cold when we forget where we were before Christ found us.  Below is how David stirred up his soul as He reflected upon God's great forgiveness.  

Psalm 32:1-8 (NKJV)

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.

7 You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

8 I (God) will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.  

When we remember the forgiveness of God, our love for Him will overflow.  Affections are strong inclinations of the soul that flows into our emotions and thinking.  

God called David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22).  Spiritual affections are fueled by values.  They are stirred up within us by the Holy Spirit of God. Affections are long lasting.  Emotions are fleeting.  

I have a strong commitment to my wife and my affections are inclined towards her, but my emotions come and go.  

Affections are connected to belief and influence actions. Affections are not less than emotions but more.  

If your Christianity is only between your ears, you are missing the affections deep within your soul.

1. Before I was in Christ , I was a great sinner.  All sin is an abomination before God. 

Romans 3:23  (NKJV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

James 2:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point,he is guilty of all.  

2. God is a great savior.  

Psalm 103:12-18  (NKJV)

12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

God's ability to forgive is greater than our ability to forget. God's ability to save is greater than our ability to sin. 

God's forgiveness is releasing the obligation of a debt that occurred because of our sin through the payment of the Cross of Christ. 

When our affection for God diminishes, we are forgetting about the greatness of our sin, and the magnitude of great God's forgiveness.

13 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.

God's capability to be save covers our inability to be save ourselves. God understands our inability to please Him without the help of Christ.

17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Through Jesus Christ, God has done everything within His power to save us. 

1. What is robbing you of your affection for Jesus? Could it be???

A. Busyness 

B. Worldliness

C. Religiousness - a practice of religion can replace a personal relationship with Jesus.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God will you show me any area that I need to deal with a sin issue?

God I'm trusting you to help me to turn from that. 

Please be my Lord and Savior.   

Notes taken from Darryl Craft, Whitesburg Baptist Church. 

http://www.whitesburgbaptist.org/sermons/gods-forgiveness/