Liberty Baptist Church
July 5

      • Psalm 33:8–12ESV

  • REJOICE

      • 1 Corinthians 16:13–14ESV

  • LIVING HOPE

      • 1 John 1:5–7ESV

  • NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD
  • If you have your Bible’s & I hope you do go ahead and grab them and open them to Psalms 32. As you’re headed there 4 & 5 year olds you guys are dismissed to go up stairs.
    While they’re headed out I’ve got a question for everyone in the room…what if I were to take every thought, every action, every word you’ve ever spoken and projected up on the screens for all of us to watch? How do you think you’d respond?
    I think we’d all want to make a beeline for the exit. Because if we’re honest, we all have something we’d rather no one else know. Maybe it’s something from our past or something we’re currently doing…something that brings us great shame or embarrassment.
    So what do we do? We spend an enormous amount of time trying to maintain or to build and image of ourselves that protects or even reshapes the facade of our reality.
    But, what if the greatest obstacle to your joy isn’t what you’ve done, but what you’re trying to hide?
    I’m willing to bet that we all have that thing. And that’s where Psalm 32 is so helpful. Follow along as I read.
    Psalm 32 ESV
    A Maskil of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
    This is God’s Word for God’s people. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray.
    Psalm 32 is interesting because it has 2 different classifications. Remember back when we started this I gave you several groups that Psalms tend to fall in. Scholars classify it primarily as a thanksgiving psalm, but also put it in a minor category called penitential psalms. Penitential Psalms are written by theose who know the weight of guilt but also know were that guilt can finally be taken. In fact, several scholars see Psalm 32 as the sequel to Psalm 51 which is what David wrote after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba, and the message of Psalm 32 is quite simple:

    MPS: Confess your sins and experience the joy of God’s forgiveness.

    That’s our main point for this morning and I’ve got 3 observations from this text to help us understand and live that out. Here’s the first:

    1. Blessedness is found in forgiveness.

    Now this is interesting…David starts off with the same word that we saw back in Psalm 1-2: blessed. To be blessed means to have complete wellness of being. Often for simplicities sake it’s translated as happy or joyful. And in Ps. 1-2 we saw that the blessed man is the person who walks in the law of the Lord and who takes refuge in the Lord, but here’s why this is interesting, David failed at those two things. He didn’t become blessed because he finally became the man of Psalm 1. He didn’t walk in obedience to God’s instructions and he didn’t take refuge in the Lord, yet at the same time he still discovered blessing because why? His transgression, his sin, his iniquity was forgiven, it was covered, it was not counted against him. Which is incredibly good news because it means the blessed life isn’t reserved for people who have never sinned.
    As one author said, this Psalm says in effect, “‘Happy are those who recognize that they are not righteous, and who know what to do about it.’” Now that almost seems contrary to what we’ve studied the past couple weeks, but really it’s just living out what Ps. 1-2 taught us.
    In fact Paul quotes this in Romans 4. He is talking about the righteousness of God is reckoned to man, or counted to man, instead of his iniquity when we put our faith in Jesus. Because as Heb. 9:22 says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” Yet through faith, the shed blood of Jesus covers our sin and we’re credited His righteousness. Christ was uncovered so you could be covered. And if you don’t have that covering, if you haven’t experienced that forgiveness, then what do you have? Deceit.
    I caught a reel a few weeks ago from Matt Chandler. He said we spend our lives in the 99%. We have no problem with you knowing 99% of me. I’ll share with you my struggles, hardship, wins, losses. No big deal on that. I’ll build an image so that you know 99% of me, but that 1%. I’m not letting those walls down. There’s darkness there. There’s shame there. If you knew all of me, then you’d probably think I’m hideous. You wouldn’t respect me. You wouldn’t trust me. And Chandler says, that 1% is Satan’s playground. That’s where he lives and does his work because we’re constantly looking to hide, or minimize, or keep silent. We deflect, we blame shift, we cover up.
    It’s what’s been happening ever since Gen. 3. We hide because we believe exposure means death.
    Adam hid from God because he didn’t know what to do with his shame. So he tried to deal with it himself by covering up with fig leaves. And then when God “found” him what did he do? It’s that woman’s fault. It’s YOUR fault God. He blame shifted. All that work and where did it leave him?
    Isolated. In opposition to God. Isn’t that what David is experiencing in v3-4?
    All of the work we put in to covering up leaves us emotionally, relationally, and physically wasting away. We become filled with anxiety, grief, isolation. We’re out here busting our tails to prove that we are good parents or we are successful or we do have all the theological knowledge, yet internally we’re groaning. The weight of the thing we’re hiding causes us to begin to doubt God’s deliverance. His hand feels heavy upon us as if there is no hope. And here’s the tragedy, all the energy we spend protecting ourselves never actually protects us. It leaves us dried up.
    The gospel comes down to this: either you spend your life trying to cover your sin…or you trust God to cover it for you.
    I wonder how many people in this room are feeling that this morning? I wonder if you might be here today carrying the weight of your sin, or maybe even someone else’s sin against you, trying to hide reality maybe even from yourself. Or trying to avoid what’s been pressing in on you? Maybe you’re thinking that time will heal your wounds, or if you can just distance yourself from the thing then you’ll be ok. Maybe you’ve begun to believe that true blessing, true contentment, isn’t for you now, but hopefully down the road. Ps. 32 shows us that maybe God’s heavy hand is pressing on you this morning, or this season, because what you really need is forgiveness.
    But how, where can forgiveness be found? What must happen in order for you to be forgiven and to know blessedness? That’s point #2:

    2. Forgiveness is found through confession.

    When David was confronted by Nathan about his actions he couldn’t run and hide. Like Adam in the Garden, he had been discovered. Sadly, it often takes exposing for confession to happen, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Your sin can be dealt with and the freedom of forgiveness experienced before that. But whether it’s discovered or disclosed, you can’t be forgiven till you confess, and David teaches us some important things about confession here.
    First, he acknowledged his sin. He made it known to God, and the only way he could do that was if he knew his sin. That might seem obvious, but as Keller points out, this means that he had to know the difference between true guilt and false guilt.
    False guilt means you feel guilty for things that you shouldn’t feel guilty for. For example, you work to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, but they move with life and move on from the Lord. Yet you spend the rest of your days second guessing every parenting decision you made, every conversation you ever had.
    So how do we know what true guilt is? Well, we might try to follow the advice of Jiminy Cricket off Pinochio, “Let your conscious be your guide.” But that’s dangerous. There’s lots of people in mental institutions that did that. It can’t be our conscious, or what we feel in our hearts because, 1 John 3:20
    1 John 3:20 ESV
    for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
    In order to know what we should truly feel guilty for we must know God’s Word. Psalm 1:2 “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” So when the Spirit convicts us through his word then we must acknowledge it. We must agree with God about our sin.
    This doesn’t mean that we fall into some form of self-pity in which we hate the consequences of the sin, but not the sin itself. It doesn’t mean that we self flaggelate—we begin to beat ourself up and hate ourselves, yet not hate the sin. No, conviction by the Spirit causes us to see the sin for what it is, to know the cost, and to grieve. Thats what it means to acknowledge our sin. We see it in light of God’s Word rather than our feelings. We own it honestly and completely.
    And we don’t cover it up. David Laid himself bare before the Lord. Unlike Adam, he didn’t minimize or excuse or deflect. He owned. Because here’s the thing. Your sin cannot be covered until it is completely uncovered. As long as your commited to hiding what you’ve done, you’l never experience God’s covering. Relationship can never be restored.
    So internally, he’s acknowledged, he’s exposed, and now that leads him to confess. He recounts to God what’s happened.
    There’s a story of a couple who went to marriage counseling. The husband was abusive, deceptive, and manipulative. He admits what he’s done and he promises he’ll change. At first he appears committed to it. The wife moves back in and things seem to go well. But after a little while the husband realizes that he she’s not going anywhere. So he goes back to his old ways. Now, did he actually confess?
    JD Greear says, “When your heart attitude towards the sin itself hasn’t changed, then you haven’t really confessed.” This husband confessed his situation wasn’t what he wanted, but he actually never confessed his sin. True confession brings about a repentance from sin. We stop trying to hide, and seek to change. And the beauty of Psalm 32 is what David found when he acknowledged, didn’t cover up, and confessed his sin:
    “And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
    Ha! It sounds redundant. Literally translated David says, “You forgave the sinfulness of my sin.”
    When God forgives us the very essence of our sin is forgiven. The guilt of it is washed away. And not after some period of mourning. Not after we’ve done something to make up the difference. Notice the immediacy here. David confessed. God forgave.
    But how could God do that? Because forgiveness is never free. How could he take this willful act of disobedience towards him and just forgive? 2 Cor. 5:21 tells us,
    2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
    For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
    God took our sin, the things we’re ashamed of and want no one to know about, the most ugly, dirty thing about you, and he placed it on Jesus so that 1 Jn 1:9
    1 John 1:9 ESV
    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
    When you confess, when you expose, when you uncover whatever it is to God what you find is the covering of Jesus.
    Friends, hear me very clearly this morning: You cannot experience forgiveness till you have honestly confessed. It’s not about quantity. You don’t have to say it over and over and over to receive his forgiveness. It’s not even about quality. You don’t have to say everything perfectly. It’s about honesty. It’s about refusing to hid anything. And the good news of the gospel is that what you expose in humility—honestly, completely—God will cover in grace.
    Confession isn’t terrifying when you know the God you’re confessing to. Remember David’s story. He committed adultery. He orchestrated murder. He lied. He tried to cover it up. Yet the first words God wants ringing in his ears aren’t: “Condemned.” They’re “blessed.”
    So here’s the question this morning: What are you trying to hide that you need to expose? What is it that you need to drag out into the light through confession and find the forgiveness, the covering that you so desperately long for?
    I know it seems scary. Adam was afraid. But Ps. 32 calls you to confess it and then shows us the good news that you won’t find a God who responds in anger, but in grace. Once you’ve received that forgiveness you’ll find everything to be different because...

    3. Forgiveness changes everything.

    David doesn’t lay all this out and go, welp, hope the consequences aren’t too bad. Hope that I can bounce back from this one. No, through confession David finds forgiveness and he finds God!
    The relational healing that comes through forgiveness means that God is no longer someone he’s at odds with, but instead someone he hides in. God becomes his refuge.
    Forgiveness changes everything.
    God becomes your refuge.
    Safety in judgment
    If he’s convicting you now don’t wait
    Gen. 3 - Adam & Eve hid. David hid in God
    Waters of judgment, you’ll be delivered from because of Jesus
    Which is why we cry out now….
    “God prompts his people to act, either because he has opened a way for them to act, or because he is moving them by his Spirit to respond; but if people do not respond to pray, the opportunity might end and the LORD might no longer prompt confession. When people are made aware of their sins, then they should pray for forgiveness. If they do not, then divine discipline may fall on them. In other words, “at the time of finding” refers to our conviction (by the Spirit) that we need to pray to him; and that sense may be intense or it may grow cold, depending on whether we pray or rebel. When God prompts people to deal with sin in their lives, that is the time for finding him. Psalm 95:7b–8a warns “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
    Safety in trial
    Preserve = watch over
    Self-preservation is our tendency, but because I’m forgiven I no longer have to spend my life protecting myself.
    Example: marriage, parenting, ministry, work
    Greear, “People who have gone through mercy speak to others in sin with a tenderness & gentleness that flows from having experienced deep forgiveness themselves.”
    Pressed but not crushed 2 Cor. 4:7-11
    2 Corinthians 4:7–11 ESV
    But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
    Victory in the battle
    “It is finished.”
    Jesus’ declaration on the cross wasn’t just a statement to the end of his life, it was a victory cry over all sin.
    Your sin isn’t waiting to be defeated. It was defeated.
    Why try to hide our sin when we can take it to Jesus an no that he conquered it? Forgiveness grants you a refuge.
    God becomes your teacher.
    Disagreement over who the “I” is here—God or David.
    God isn’t distant, he’s personal. He becomes our teacher. If it is David, then David is teaching others what God is teaching him. Forgiveness brings about a restored relationship in which God becomes our teacher.
    Kidner, “If forgiveness is good, fellowship is better; if we have experienced God’s heavy hand, we should appreciate and seek his gentler touch.”
    What kind of teacher is he?
    Horse/mule doesn’t respond because it loves you, it responds because of a bridle. Don’t be a horse.
    Horse obeys because of pressure. Believer obeys because of relationship.
    Joy becomes your song.
    Without forgiveness where are you left?
    With forgiveness you’re safe. You’re secured. You are fully known and fully loved. You can’t help but respond with shouts of thanksgiving.
    How do I know if joy has become my song?
    Do others feel safe in their weaknesses around you?
    Some of us can’t rejoice because we’re still carrying everyone else’s account books. We’ve become the collector of debts. David invites us to become recipients of grace.
    How safe do you feel being known?
    If you have experienced the joy of forgiveness, you don’t mind letting people see your faults, because your happiness does not depend on maintaining the illusion that you are perfect.
    How do you respond when your sin is exposed?
    If you’ve had the experience of being deeply forgiven, you won’t mind when others point out your sin; you are very aware of them…you’re not trying to hide behind a mask of your goodness…God’s mercy is your hiding place, and you’ll even boast about your faults so others can find the same hiding place for their souls that you have!
    The beauty, the glory, of Psalm 32 is that it’s not just forgiveness for forgiveness’ sake. It’s forgiveness that reconciles you to God—that is the key to happiness. Forgiveness can only say, “You may go.” But reconciliation says, “Please come near.” Blessedness, true contentment, joy, is found in God. Forgiveness is the doorway; reconciliation is the destination, but that only happens through confession.
    The truth is we all want to be fully known and fully loved, but our pride has prevented us from letting that happen. The one thing that is keeping you from knowing joy, from living in freedom, isn’t the sin you’ve commited or that shameful thing that you want no one to know about—it’s your attempt to cover it up. So confess your sin and experience the joy of God’s forgiveness.
    In fact, we’re going to turn to an object lesson now that the Lord has given us—The Lord’s Supper. His body was broken for that thing you don’t want exposed. His blood was shed to cover the iniquity of your sin. In doing so it removed, it purified, it brought about forgiveness for you. Which means then that this isn’t for everyone. This is only for people who have confessed their sin to God, and submitted their lives to his lordship by repenting of their sins.
    If you’ve never done that, then I’d ask that you’d just let the plate pass here in a second when it comes by. To take this cup and this cracker and not know Jesus as Lord is to live in deceit. Instead, I’d beg you, I’d plead with you to submit your life to him now.
    For everyone else, this is an opportunity for you to confess your sin to the Lord—expose it and receive his covering. You may need to tell a friend this afternoon who loves you and is for you. There’s a lot of those here.
    Let’s pray, and then I’ll ask the deacons to come up and distribute the elements.

      • Psalm 32ESV

      • 1 John 3:20ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21ESV

      • 1 John 1:9ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 4:7–11ESV

  • THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD
Liberty Baptist Church
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