A lifechanging promise from God: a fresh beginning is yours. More than one young person looked forward to graduation in order to start over. A new beginning. A move can make a huge difference. When playing a video game, its easy to hit the reset button, things get so messed up, and God is saying you can do the same thing with your life. A new beginning.
Your ears must prick up whenever you read in scripture the word “blessed.” “Blessed is he…” the scripture begins (Psalm 32). Happiness is a bit too simple of an interpretation, but the idea of happiness is there: how to be happy. We all know people in which that is what we want for them: happiness. But blessed also carries the idea of satisfaction, peace, and contentment. Contentment comes from God! I like this story of contentment:
Once a rich businessman was walking along the docks and was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why don't you catch more fish than you need?" the rich man asked. "What would I do with them?" "You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me." The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?" "You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist. "What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied, as he looked placidly out at the sea. That man had learned a valuable lesson: he had learned how to be content!
Contentment and happiness comes from God (verses 1- 2)
You will never find peace until you are honest about yourself. As an example, a principle I learned several decades ago about marriage: when are you ready to get married? When you are willing to not be married. In other words, you have a contentment about yourself. You are comfortable inside your own skin. You have an honesty. This Psalm is about finding peace, the peace of God through an honest look at yourself. Your best friends are those who know you warts and all. Until they know the warts, the friendship is limited. Knowing God is no different. Many superstars have crumbled when they are put on a pedestal, because it is dishonest.
A fresh beginning is yours to know God by presenting yourself in honesty. And that come through acknowledging sin and receiving forgiveness. Knowing that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and that God offers His mercy to those who confess their sin should be the greatest delight of every person. This is peace.
A few words about sin. I cannot ignore sin. Whole movements of Christianity are built on ignoring sin because it is so negative and nobody wants to hear it. Yet we are sinners. Sin describes a faulty action. It is the most general term meaning to turn from the way God has prescribed, to miss the mark. These are the "things" we do or do not do: sins of commission and of omission. One problem is that whenever we start being honest with ourselves, we can be staggered by the number of specific "things" that need to be forgiven! However, if we follow David's example in this Psalm, we realize that even though we need to recognize individual acts of sin, the important part of confession is the simple plea, "Lord, I confess to you that I need your healing hand down deep in my life." More than individual acts of sin, it is important we ask God to work on us at our core, to cleanse us of the way we are, and to change those things about us that cause us to be that way!
It is time to quite concealing your sin? Confession is like opening the floodgate of a dam. When there is no confession, the waters pile up behind the dam, creating immense pressures on the wall, but as soon as the floodgate is opened, the waters subside and the pressures diminish.
Verse 3-4 is an admission of David that he tried to hide his sin, "When I kept silent." David tried to pretend like nothing was wrong and ignore or justify his sinful behavior. Hiding our sins effects us physically and spiritually.
Sin will take a physical toll on the sinner as he tries to cover up his sin. The talk of bones, and "groaning" is a cry of distress, a physical exhaustion. While David's sin was unconfessed, there was something in him that was crying out in distress. There was something that was seeking for relief. While he tried to hide his sin, the worry and fear that he would be found out took a physical toll.
Unacknowledge sin also take a spiritual toll. Whether we like to think about it or not, there is a heavy spiritual price to pay for sin in our lives! David says that God's "hand was heavy" upon him. There is a spiritual weightiness. Sin means separation from God.
Here’s another problem I’ve noticed. There are those who have no problems understanding they are sinners, but for some reason they like beating themselves up. For some of you, it’s time to quit kicking yourself. It’s time to go on to confession and restoration.
Sin must be confronted (v. 6). The pattern for confronting sin in our lives revolves around the word "confess." The way to get sin taken care of is to confess sin. In the New Testament, the word confess carries the idea of "agreement". When we confess a sin, we are throwing it down before the Lord and saying the same thing about that He has said. This verse reveals how confession is to be practiced by the child of God.
The Existence Of Our Sins is a major part of confession. David says that he "acknowledged" there was sin in his life. The word means "to know and perceive and to make known to others." We must face up to the fact of our own sin, and we must admit that sin before God! Unless we come to the place where we admit the fact that we have sinned, we will never be made whole! Even if you never come to the place where you can be honest about the sin that is in your life, you need to know that God has already let everyone in on the fact that none of us are perfect. Our sin is a fact, but it will never be dealt with until it is admitted by the person who is guilty of it.
We must also confess the extent of our sins. We need to get honest about the fact that sin has invaded every nook and cranny of our lives! Sin prevents us from being the servants of God we ought to be. David pulled back the covers and revealed his sin in all of its ugliness and its rottenness. David got honest about his sin and that is what it takes to get it made right, Proverbs 28:13, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy."
There is power in confessing sin. Confession brings cleansing. David tells us that those who will confess their sins will experience "forgiveness" and will have their sins "covered". When we bring our sin to God, he extends his forgiveness to us. The penalty of sin will also be removed. This is a promise reaffirmed in the New Testament. John writes the following: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Confession brings closeness. Verse 2 speaks of God not holding sin against a person. When our sins have been taken care of according to God's pattern, He does not hold those sins against us. There are no longer any barriers between us and God. We are able to come into His presence again have intimate fellowship with God. No wonder David said that such a person is "Happy!" When sin is confessed the believer is forgiven and is brought into the presence of God. There is a restoration of fellowship and a resumption of blessing.
Confession brings consecration. The forgiven person has no guilt in his spirit. There are no more attempt to pull anything over on God. The sinner is honest and, as a result, his whole life grows cleaner and more holy before the Lord. If you sincerely want to live for the Lord with a pure heart, the first step is to get honest about your sins and get them out into the open. When that happens, they will be forgiven and you will be restored to fellowship with the Lord. Your appetite for the spiritual will be renewed and you will grow stronger in the Lord as a result.
By the end of this Psalm, David Praised the Lord once again! David solved his sin problem the right way. He told the truth about his sin and cast it down before the Lord. He got it into the open and God forgave him!
A new beginning is yours when you come clean before the Lord, confessing your sins and asking the Lord to forgive you. If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, then pray a prayer of salvation, asking the Lord to forgive your sins and make you whole: "Lord Jesus, I confess to you that I am a sinner. Forgive my sins, and enter my life, that I may be a new person with a fresh beginning." If you are already a Christian, you must still be honest about your sins and confess your sins asking the Lord to transform you into a new creation. Are you ready for a fresh start?
Once a rich businessman was walking along the docks and was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why don't you catch more fish than you need?" the rich man asked. "What would I do with them?" "You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me." The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?" "You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist. "What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied, as he looked placidly out at the sea. That man had learned a valuable lesson: he had learned how to be content!
Contentment and happiness comes from God (verses 1- 2)
You will never find peace until you are honest about yourself. As an example, a principle I learned several decades ago about marriage: when are you ready to get married? When you are willing to not be married. In other words, you have a contentment about yourself. You are comfortable inside your own skin. You have an honesty. This Psalm is about finding peace, the peace of God through an honest look at yourself. Your best friends are those who know you warts and all. Until they know the warts, the friendship is limited. Knowing God is no different. Many superstars have crumbled when they are put on a pedestal, because it is dishonest.
A fresh beginning is yours to know God by presenting yourself in honesty. And that come through acknowledging sin and receiving forgiveness. Knowing that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and that God offers His mercy to those who confess their sin should be the greatest delight of every person. This is peace.
A few words about sin. I cannot ignore sin. Whole movements of Christianity are built on ignoring sin because it is so negative and nobody wants to hear it. Yet we are sinners. Sin describes a faulty action. It is the most general term meaning to turn from the way God has prescribed, to miss the mark. These are the "things" we do or do not do: sins of commission and of omission. One problem is that whenever we start being honest with ourselves, we can be staggered by the number of specific "things" that need to be forgiven! However, if we follow David's example in this Psalm, we realize that even though we need to recognize individual acts of sin, the important part of confession is the simple plea, "Lord, I confess to you that I need your healing hand down deep in my life." More than individual acts of sin, it is important we ask God to work on us at our core, to cleanse us of the way we are, and to change those things about us that cause us to be that way!
It is time to quite concealing your sin? Confession is like opening the floodgate of a dam. When there is no confession, the waters pile up behind the dam, creating immense pressures on the wall, but as soon as the floodgate is opened, the waters subside and the pressures diminish.
Verse 3-4 is an admission of David that he tried to hide his sin, "When I kept silent." David tried to pretend like nothing was wrong and ignore or justify his sinful behavior. Hiding our sins effects us physically and spiritually.
Sin will take a physical toll on the sinner as he tries to cover up his sin. The talk of bones, and "groaning" is a cry of distress, a physical exhaustion. While David's sin was unconfessed, there was something in him that was crying out in distress. There was something that was seeking for relief. While he tried to hide his sin, the worry and fear that he would be found out took a physical toll.
Unacknowledge sin also take a spiritual toll. Whether we like to think about it or not, there is a heavy spiritual price to pay for sin in our lives! David says that God's "hand was heavy" upon him. There is a spiritual weightiness. Sin means separation from God.
Here’s another problem I’ve noticed. There are those who have no problems understanding they are sinners, but for some reason they like beating themselves up. For some of you, it’s time to quit kicking yourself. It’s time to go on to confession and restoration.
Sin must be confronted (v. 6). The pattern for confronting sin in our lives revolves around the word "confess." The way to get sin taken care of is to confess sin. In the New Testament, the word confess carries the idea of "agreement". When we confess a sin, we are throwing it down before the Lord and saying the same thing about that He has said. This verse reveals how confession is to be practiced by the child of God.
The Existence Of Our Sins is a major part of confession. David says that he "acknowledged" there was sin in his life. The word means "to know and perceive and to make known to others." We must face up to the fact of our own sin, and we must admit that sin before God! Unless we come to the place where we admit the fact that we have sinned, we will never be made whole! Even if you never come to the place where you can be honest about the sin that is in your life, you need to know that God has already let everyone in on the fact that none of us are perfect. Our sin is a fact, but it will never be dealt with until it is admitted by the person who is guilty of it.
We must also confess the extent of our sins. We need to get honest about the fact that sin has invaded every nook and cranny of our lives! Sin prevents us from being the servants of God we ought to be. David pulled back the covers and revealed his sin in all of its ugliness and its rottenness. David got honest about his sin and that is what it takes to get it made right, Proverbs 28:13, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy."
There is power in confessing sin. Confession brings cleansing. David tells us that those who will confess their sins will experience "forgiveness" and will have their sins "covered". When we bring our sin to God, he extends his forgiveness to us. The penalty of sin will also be removed. This is a promise reaffirmed in the New Testament. John writes the following: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Confession brings closeness. Verse 2 speaks of God not holding sin against a person. When our sins have been taken care of according to God's pattern, He does not hold those sins against us. There are no longer any barriers between us and God. We are able to come into His presence again have intimate fellowship with God. No wonder David said that such a person is "Happy!" When sin is confessed the believer is forgiven and is brought into the presence of God. There is a restoration of fellowship and a resumption of blessing.
Confession brings consecration. The forgiven person has no guilt in his spirit. There are no more attempt to pull anything over on God. The sinner is honest and, as a result, his whole life grows cleaner and more holy before the Lord. If you sincerely want to live for the Lord with a pure heart, the first step is to get honest about your sins and get them out into the open. When that happens, they will be forgiven and you will be restored to fellowship with the Lord. Your appetite for the spiritual will be renewed and you will grow stronger in the Lord as a result.
By the end of this Psalm, David Praised the Lord once again! David solved his sin problem the right way. He told the truth about his sin and cast it down before the Lord. He got it into the open and God forgave him!
A new beginning is yours when you come clean before the Lord, confessing your sins and asking the Lord to forgive you. If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, then pray a prayer of salvation, asking the Lord to forgive your sins and make you whole: "Lord Jesus, I confess to you that I am a sinner. Forgive my sins, and enter my life, that I may be a new person with a fresh beginning." If you are already a Christian, you must still be honest about your sins and confess your sins asking the Lord to transform you into a new creation. Are you ready for a fresh start?
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