WEBVTT 00:00:00.620 --> 00:00:02.980 G'day everyone, my name's Lindsay and I have 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:05.240 the privilege of reading God's Word for us this 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:08.419 morning. As Tony said, we're reading from Psalm 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:22.820 32. Hear these words of God. Of David Amaskal. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:26.300 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:30.550 whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose 00:00:30.550 --> 00:00:33.670 sin the Lord does not count against them, and 00:00:33.670 --> 00:00:38.310 in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, 00:00:38.750 --> 00:00:42.990 my bones wasted away, threw my groaning all day 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:46.590 long. For day and night your hand was heavy on 00:00:46.590 --> 00:00:49.689 me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of 00:00:49.689 --> 00:00:53.950 summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and 00:00:53.950 --> 00:00:57.490 did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will 00:00:57.490 --> 00:01:01.170 confess my transgressions to the Lord and you 00:01:01.170 --> 00:01:06.250 forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:09.670 the faithful pray to you while you may be found. 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:13.030 Surely the rising of the mighty waters will not 00:01:13.030 --> 00:01:16.950 reach them. You are my hiding place. You will 00:01:16.950 --> 00:01:19.150 protect me from trouble and surround me with 00:01:19.150 --> 00:01:23.430 songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and 00:01:23.430 --> 00:01:25.930 teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel 00:01:25.930 --> 00:01:29.469 you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like 00:01:29.469 --> 00:01:32.230 the horse or the mule which have no understanding, 00:01:32.829 --> 00:01:36.390 but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they 00:01:36.390 --> 00:01:39.989 will not come to you. Many are the woes of the 00:01:39.989 --> 00:01:43.290 wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds 00:01:43.290 --> 00:01:47.370 the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord 00:01:47.370 --> 00:01:51.239 and be glad, you righteous. Sing. all of you 00:01:51.239 --> 00:02:02.319 who are upright in heart. Good morning. My name 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:04.959 is Nick and I presume I haven't met most of you, 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:09.240 but I'm very glad to be here with you this week. 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:11.759 Michael and I actually did five years of preaching 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:13.319 training, no, one year of preaching training 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:16.020 together five years ago. which I reckon means 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:18.240 we have the same like one or two strengths and 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.180 the same 100 weaknesses. So there you go. It's 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.460 good to be here with you this morning. I want 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:26.780 to start with this. I want to start with a personality 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:31.099 test with you this morning. If you have a spouse 00:02:31.099 --> 00:02:33.379 or a sibling or a friend, you can do it on their 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:35.719 behalf if you would like. And here's the question. 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:42.460 Are you an oversharer or an undersharer? Oversharer, 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.419 undersharer. Which one are you? Take a minute 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:49.620 to think that through if you would like. Ponder 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:53.099 which one you think you might be. Here's my thoughts 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:56.060 on it. Oversharers, what do we love about them? 00:02:56.139 --> 00:02:59.780 We love that they're like a puppy. The zeal, 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.560 the energy, the fact that you can get all the 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:06.039 goss from them in one conversation. Oversharers, 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:08.259 that's what we love. I love the fact that you 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:11.069 never have to guess how they feel. You can just 00:03:11.069 --> 00:03:13.509 see it on their face, the excitement, the terror, 00:03:13.689 --> 00:03:16.490 the shame, the love, the joy, it's all there 00:03:16.490 --> 00:03:20.469 mixed in together. What's wrong with over -sharers 00:03:20.469 --> 00:03:25.409 though? Just would they ever be quiet? Over -sharers, 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:28.629 come on. Which is why we love under -sharers, 00:03:28.729 --> 00:03:30.889 right? You go and talk to someone who doesn't 00:03:30.889 --> 00:03:33.629 share very much and you ask, how are you going? 00:03:33.669 --> 00:03:38.250 And they say, good. How was your week at work? 00:03:38.409 --> 00:03:42.169 Good. How's the family? Good. Should we finish 00:03:42.169 --> 00:03:46.110 this conversation? Very good. That's under sharers, 00:03:46.229 --> 00:03:49.669 which if you're an over sharer and you meet an 00:03:49.669 --> 00:03:52.069 under sharer, that is the perfect storm. They 00:03:52.069 --> 00:03:54.129 are like a deer in the headlight stuck there 00:03:54.129 --> 00:03:57.909 listening to you while you prattle on. Over sharer, 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:00.810 under sharer, which one are you? You can talk 00:04:00.810 --> 00:04:04.569 about that over morning tea. This morning we're 00:04:04.569 --> 00:04:07.409 looking at Psalm 32 and Psalms in the Bible are 00:04:07.409 --> 00:04:09.889 kind of like songs, songs on their own. They 00:04:09.889 --> 00:04:14.270 often tell a story. There's a kind of a theme 00:04:14.270 --> 00:04:16.670 that runs through Psalms and through songs and 00:04:16.670 --> 00:04:19.649 so here too we have a Psalm or a song of David 00:04:19.649 --> 00:04:23.250 that tells a story from his life. But like songs, 00:04:23.629 --> 00:04:27.629 Psalms also a part of an album, a bigger story 00:04:27.629 --> 00:04:31.459 that all the little songs fit together. to tell 00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:34.000 and therefore this is a song of David but within 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.600 the album it is a song for us. And so as we come 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.100 to Psalm 32 this morning, the question I want 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:45.519 to put to you is what is more dangerous for a 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:50.720 Christian to be an oversharer or an undersharer? 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:55.939 Which one of those is worse? I ask the question 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:58.220 because in normal life, right, we would say it's 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:02.259 the oversharer. We think gossip is the issue. 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.279 That's the thing that's problematic. I was at 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.040 a hairdresser recently, maybe this has happened 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:09.560 to you, where I'm just there kind of minding 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:12.259 my own business, getting a haircut, and the bloke 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:15.160 next to me is just falling apart telling his 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.569 life story. And there's a part of me that's like 00:05:17.569 --> 00:05:19.990 a nosy teenager, just like craning in desperate 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.829 to hear all the details, all the kind of things 00:05:22.829 --> 00:05:25.050 that have gone wrong in his life, really wanting 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:26.769 to know. It's like an episode of Neighbours. 00:05:26.949 --> 00:05:29.250 It's incredible. And there's a part of me that's 00:05:29.250 --> 00:05:32.670 like, dude, I'm just here for a trim, like kind 00:05:32.670 --> 00:05:35.850 of, you know, chill out a bit. Because we think 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:38.629 over -sharers are problematic. In normal life, 00:05:38.689 --> 00:05:43.470 we prize self -control. The British idea of a 00:05:43.470 --> 00:05:49.259 stiff upper lip. We like to have a sense of restraint, 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:57.019 measuredness, decorum, civility. But in Psalm 00:05:57.019 --> 00:06:05.180 32, spiritually speaking, that's dangerous. Our 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:09.439 propensity to bury things down, to hide parts 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:12.759 of our lives, our propensity to under -share, 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:18.810 is not good. The headline of Psalm 32 is that 00:06:18.810 --> 00:06:23.089 God is not looking for people who look put together 00:06:23.089 --> 00:06:29.430 but people who openly confess and divulge and 00:06:29.430 --> 00:06:33.850 share their sin. To frame it as a personality, 00:06:33.949 --> 00:06:37.389 God is not looking for people who say nothing. 00:06:38.310 --> 00:06:41.649 He's looking for people who share every flaw 00:06:41.649 --> 00:06:47.339 and failure when they confess. And you might 00:06:47.339 --> 00:06:50.620 want to ask yourself, how are you going with 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:56.199 that? As we jump in this morning, there's three 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:59.000 parts to this psalm. In verses one to two, David 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.740 gives us the goal. He kind of does things in 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:05.120 reverse and gives us the application up front. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:07.620 Then in verses three to seven, we get the back 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:11.220 story. And then in verses eight to 11, we get 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:15.379 some instructions. A goal. a backstory, some 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:17.779 instructions. That's where we're heading. Firstly, 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:23.019 the goal in verses 1 and 2. Here's the goal up 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:24.759 front. Here's what David wants you to get out 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:28.899 of this Psalm. Verse 1, here it is. Be happy. 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.459 Be happy, that's what blessed means at the start 00:07:32.459 --> 00:07:35.019 of this Psalm. Blessed, it's the idea of joy, 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.759 a good life, the feeling of having it all together. 00:07:39.960 --> 00:07:42.480 Before you leave today, the goal for the psalmist, 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:45.160 the thing he wants you to experience and feel 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:51.899 and know is blessing to be happy. Why? Because 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:56.600 of forgiveness. Verse 1 and 2, look at what they 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.740 say. Blessed is the one, happy is the one whose 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:05.040 transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:08.699 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:13.759 count. against them. Psalms are poetry, right? 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:17.579 They kind of need to be read slowly to get the 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:20.100 treasure out of the details. And here's one thing 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:23.339 to notice. Notice he uses three different words 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:28.040 for sin, followed by three different words for 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.560 forgiveness. Three words for sin, verse one, 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:36.620 transgression. It's the idea of rebellion, treason. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:42.639 Verse 2, sin, it's the idea of failure, falling 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.759 short, missing the mark. Verse 2 again, it says 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.399 sin but in some older translations it says iniquity. 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:55.200 It's the idea of perversion, a way of taking 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:58.879 life and twisting it, bending it in directions 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.179 it's not supposed to go. Three different words 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:05.809 for sin, why three? because it's supposed to 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:10.909 reflect our total corruption. Three words, three 00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:14.169 different definitions to say that we rebel against 00:09:14.169 --> 00:09:19.049 God, that we fail Him, we let others down, that 00:09:19.049 --> 00:09:20.830 we don't live in the way we're meant to because 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:25.629 we're constantly bending life out of shape. It's 00:09:25.629 --> 00:09:29.450 the totality of sin in our lives, the muck, the 00:09:29.450 --> 00:09:32.629 shame, the wrongheadedness, the mistakes, all 00:09:32.629 --> 00:09:38.139 of that three words for sin met with three words 00:09:38.139 --> 00:09:44.940 of forgiveness. There's a famous parable of the 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:46.860 Christian life called the Pilgrim's Progress. 00:09:47.019 --> 00:09:48.440 It's kind of an oldie but a goodie, and maybe 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:51.240 you've read that story before. And in the story, 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:54.059 a Christian, who's the aptly named main character, 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:57.299 he has this thing called a burden. It's this 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:00.220 kind of weight that bears down. I think we're 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:03.000 supposed to see it as kind of a rock or a bowl 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:05.639 or something on his back that just weighs down 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:07.700 on him. And in the parable, it's very clear that 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:10.820 his burden is his sin, this thing that he can't 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:14.059 shake, this weight that bears down on his life. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:16.980 And in the parable, he comes to the cross, the 00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:19.059 place where Jesus died for the sins of the world, 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.320 and as he walks towards it, kind of stumbling 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.100 and heaving because of the weight, as he gets 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:26.179 to the cross, the thing that finally happens 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:31.700 is the burden falls from his back. The story 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:35.779 says this weight, loosed off his shoulders, it 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:40.519 fell from his back and suddenly he's free. In 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:42.960 the story, Christian, he starts kind of jumping 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.080 for joy, he's dancing around, he's ecstatic, 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:47.600 his life has changed, his burden has gone and 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.080 because it's an old story, this is how I put 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:55.080 it, it says he was merry of heart. Mary of heart 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:58.720 because the burden of his sin has gone and in 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:03.679 this Psalm that is forgiveness. Forgiveness in 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:06.379 the Old Testament, it connotates the idea of 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:10.580 a load being lifted up, the weight of guilt being 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:17.299 taken away, lifted off you by God. Maybe you've 00:11:17.299 --> 00:11:19.779 had that experience where you've stuffed up with 00:11:19.779 --> 00:11:24.009 a friend or a family member and it just kind 00:11:24.009 --> 00:11:28.090 of gnaws at you all day. That feeling of regret, 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:32.250 guilt, disappointment, wishing you could go back 00:11:32.250 --> 00:11:34.970 and rewind again and again. And so then you go 00:11:34.970 --> 00:11:36.549 and you see them and you've kind of got a speech 00:11:36.549 --> 00:11:39.549 prepared and you confess and you say you're sorry. 00:11:39.970 --> 00:11:42.490 And the moment this passage is trying to describe 00:11:42.490 --> 00:11:46.690 is the moment where they say, thanks so much 00:11:46.690 --> 00:11:51.210 for your apology, but don't worry about it. You're 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:56.279 totally forgiven. don't mention it. And so you 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:58.720 hug and you make up, maybe you share a cup of 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.059 coffee, and that feeling you had is completely 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:07.940 gone. And this Psalm is trying to describe that. 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:12.240 That feeling of reconciliation, the feeling of 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.779 sin disappearing from your shoulders, total forgiveness 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:22.789 from God. And in our world, where we stuff things 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:29.330 up most days, most hours, most minutes. Where 00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:31.789 we make mistakes, get things wrong, do it again. 00:12:33.909 --> 00:12:36.429 The psalmist wants to say that knowing forgiveness 00:12:36.429 --> 00:12:40.870 like that is happiness. That's what it means 00:12:40.870 --> 00:12:45.090 to be blessed. To know that you are forgiven 00:12:45.090 --> 00:12:49.330 by the one who made you. That is what it looks 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:56.019 like to be merry. hearts. Three words for forgiveness 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:58.639 that we've seen. One is forgiveness. The other 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.259 at the end of verse one he says it's when sins 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:06.159 are covered over, wiped clean from your record. 00:13:06.220 --> 00:13:08.679 In verse two it says it's when God doesn't count 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:12.600 your sin against you. He refuses to write down 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.659 what you've done. For the psalmist that is what 00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:22.149 God has done. That's what He's done for you, 00:13:23.309 --> 00:13:28.549 but there's one thing you must do. You cannot 00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:33.870 be self -deceived. Verse 2, I don't know if you 00:13:33.870 --> 00:13:36.210 noticed how it finished, but have a look again 00:13:36.210 --> 00:13:54.110 what it says. Translation, David was once an 00:13:54.110 --> 00:13:58.070 undershera. And that brings us to his backstory 00:13:58.070 --> 00:14:05.250 in verses three to seven. As we said, this is 00:14:05.250 --> 00:14:07.929 poetry and here's something that might be helpful 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:12.549 for you. English poetry is of almost no use to 00:14:12.549 --> 00:14:15.009 reading Old Testament poetry. So if you did English 00:14:15.009 --> 00:14:17.070 at school, congratulations, it's not going to 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:21.220 help because in the Bible, Poetry doesn't rhyme 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:24.860 with words that sound similar. It often rhymes 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:30.240 with ideas that mean something similar. So I'll 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:33.960 give you some examples. When I say, roses are 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:36.879 red, violets are blue, I can't remember the rest 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:39.840 of the poem, but neither can you. In that poem, 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:42.259 which I think is pretty good, by the way, what's 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:44.799 the words that rhyme? It's blue and you. They 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:47.340 sound similar. That's how kind of modern English 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:50.799 poetry works. But in the Bible, it's the meanings 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.440 that rhyme. So here's some examples of that. 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:59.679 Air and breath. So they don't sound similar, 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:01.899 but they're similar things, aren't they? Air 00:15:01.899 --> 00:15:04.879 and breath, we can see that. Another one, quick 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.419 and slow. Again, they don't sound similar, but 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:10.100 what's the rhyming thing there? It's the opposites, 00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:16.419 quick and slow. One more, straight and narrow. 00:15:17.070 --> 00:15:20.269 Don't sound the same, but they're kind of similar 00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:24.350 descriptions. So that's the principle. Listen 00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:26.830 again to verse 3 and see if you can spot the 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:31.129 ideas which match. Here's what it says. Verse 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:36.730 3, when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through 00:15:36.730 --> 00:15:42.370 my groaning all day long. When I kept silent, 00:15:42.509 --> 00:15:47.419 my bones wasted away through my groaning all 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:50.480 day long. What are the ideas that go together 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:56.899 there? It's the quietness of silence with the 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:02.539 loudness of groaning. So what's David trying 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:05.200 to say? He's trying to say in his attempts to 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:09.259 cover up his sin, to stay silent about what he 00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:14.100 had done, it groaned loudly within him. It's 00:16:14.100 --> 00:16:17.529 a paradox. He's trying to describe a time when 00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:21.149 he was in so much self -denial, so silent, working 00:16:21.149 --> 00:16:24.789 so hard to suppress what he had done that it 00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:30.269 felt like it was killing him loudly inside. His 00:16:30.269 --> 00:16:32.950 guilt, his shame. In verse 3, he says he can 00:16:32.950 --> 00:16:37.470 feel it in his bones. Verse 4 says he feels like 00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:41.710 a plant or a carcass left out baking under the 00:16:41.710 --> 00:16:49.850 sun. Just lifeless, dying. barren, dry. In his 00:16:49.850 --> 00:16:51.610 silence, maybe you've done this as well, he tries 00:16:51.610 --> 00:16:54.730 to ignore it, tries to push it away, tries to 00:16:54.730 --> 00:16:58.389 think about something else and it eats away at 00:16:58.389 --> 00:17:04.029 his soul. See David thought this would make him 00:17:04.029 --> 00:17:07.990 happy. He believed the lie that ignoring his 00:17:07.990 --> 00:17:11.170 sin would give him peace and yet what it actually 00:17:11.170 --> 00:17:17.369 brings is sorrow and sadness. Which is exactly 00:17:17.369 --> 00:17:21.069 why, in verse 5, he changes strategy and finally 00:17:21.069 --> 00:17:25.609 speaks to God. Verse 5, he comes out into the 00:17:25.609 --> 00:17:27.269 open, doesn't he? And he acknowledges what he's 00:17:27.269 --> 00:17:29.970 done. He doesn't cover it up. He lets it all 00:17:29.970 --> 00:17:32.269 out. He says it out loud. He becomes an over 00:17:32.269 --> 00:17:35.650 -sharer. Instead of silence, he speaks. And the 00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:40.269 thing that he finds is forgiveness and happiness. 00:17:41.289 --> 00:17:48.259 Pure bliss to be forgiven by God. And if that 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:53.980 was true for David, then why on earth would we 00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:59.359 cover up our sin ourselves? Why would we cover 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:04.960 up our sin? I remember when I was a kid, I was 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.779 playing at home in the backyard and I tore down 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:12.220 a branch from the tree in our backyard and as 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:14.039 a little kid that looked like half a forest. 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:16.589 And mum was quite smart. I think it was about 00:18:16.589 --> 00:18:19.529 12 o 'clock. And mum came out and she said, your 00:18:19.529 --> 00:18:20.869 father's going to deal with this when he gets 00:18:20.869 --> 00:18:23.950 home at 5 o 'clock. And so I had five hours to 00:18:23.950 --> 00:18:27.769 sit and think about my sin. Thinking's the last 00:18:27.769 --> 00:18:29.329 thing I actually did though. I got out there 00:18:29.329 --> 00:18:32.109 and I thought, OK, maybe I can kind of hoist 00:18:32.109 --> 00:18:34.329 the branch back up into the tree and hopefully 00:18:34.329 --> 00:18:36.990 dad doesn't notice. I think one point, maybe 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:39.099 the idea was to... to put it in the neighbour's 00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:41.859 backyard and blame their cats or something like 00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:44.099 that. I reckon if it happened again, I would 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:46.400 try and blame climate change. It was nature. 00:18:46.779 --> 00:18:50.400 It wasn't me. Who knows how it happened? Sorry, 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:56.079 Dad. But the reason this story sticks out is 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:59.440 that Dad came home, and clearly he could see 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.819 what was going on, the elaborate cover -up operation. 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:07.700 And he walked over and he said, Totally forgiven. 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:13.240 Don't sweat it. And we went off and played together 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.500 or something like that. Turns out, next time 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:19.819 I confess my sin to him, it did not go that way. 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:21.579 I got in a lot of trouble. So that was a kind 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:25.279 of a once -off operation. But the thing that 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:30.220 sticks out is that moment, this great teaching 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:39.359 moment. Father and son. Sins forgiven. Pure Why 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:44.559 would we cover up our sins ourselves when God 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:51.079 our Father can cover them up Himself? Why would 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:53.539 we cover up our sin? That's what Jesus' blood 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:58.160 was spilt for. The Bible talks about the redness 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:02.220 of His blood making our sinfulness as white as 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:06.730 snow. removing our sin as far as the East from 00:20:06.730 --> 00:20:09.970 the West. God making atonement for our sins so 00:20:09.970 --> 00:20:14.869 that we might be righteous in His sight. Verse 00:20:14.869 --> 00:20:18.369 7, I love verse 7. David says that instead of 00:20:18.369 --> 00:20:22.109 a fearful judge, God was a hiding place from 00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:27.390 all that He had done. So why would we cover up 00:20:27.390 --> 00:20:36.230 our sin when we have an offer like that? It's 00:20:36.230 --> 00:20:38.950 been great spending time with your church this 00:20:38.950 --> 00:20:41.349 week. I've really enjoyed being part of different 00:20:41.349 --> 00:20:45.430 things. Sundays, Bible studies, ministries during 00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:47.609 the week. And one of the things about joining 00:20:47.609 --> 00:20:49.329 another church for a little while is you start 00:20:49.329 --> 00:20:51.109 to notice the things that really stick out that 00:20:51.109 --> 00:20:53.650 are different to your church. So one of the things 00:20:53.650 --> 00:20:55.470 that really stands out to me is that this place 00:20:55.470 --> 00:20:57.410 was definitely some kind of carpet or furniture 00:20:57.410 --> 00:20:59.890 store. The fact that you have this wooden runway 00:20:59.890 --> 00:21:02.230 kind of going through the middle of the auditorium, 00:21:02.230 --> 00:21:05.059 that sticks out. The random pillars just jotted 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:06.940 around. You can definitely see what this building 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:09.519 used to be. I actually wonder if you could use 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.259 the windows to your advantage though. Like you 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:13.740 could put a different family each week in the 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:16.240 display cabinet at the front. And as people walk 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:17.880 past you could show them the finished product 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:20.319 of what Jesus could do to you. So that's a free 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:22.720 one from me. The other great thing is we hang 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:24.980 out with Michael. It's been nice to catch up 00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:26.500 with him. And one of the things I've noticed 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:29.579 about him is he loves to use Siri. to do all 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:32.099 his work for him. So he's got Thelma in the office 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:34.440 and a Thelma in the pocket, which I think is 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:37.299 pretty neat. The problem with Siri, though, is 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:40.019 Siri keeps spelling my name wrong, which I think 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:42.480 she's doing deliberately. And so maybe that's 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.519 something that elders could work on together 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:48.500 to get back at Siri on my behalf. Now, what does 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.599 that have to do with anything? Siri doesn't listen 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:53.900 properly, but there's two instructions left in 00:21:53.900 --> 00:21:56.920 this passage. Make sure you listen properly to 00:21:56.920 --> 00:22:02.519 these. Two instructions. Listen carefully. Here's 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:04.839 the first one in verse eight and nine. We'll 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.299 read it together. I will instruct you and teach 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:11.420 you in the way you should go. I will counsel 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:15.660 you with my loving eyes on you. Do not be like 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:18.660 the horse or the mule, which have no understanding, 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:23.140 but must be controlled by bit or bridle, or they 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:27.849 will not come to you. That's the text. That's 00:22:27.849 --> 00:22:31.690 the first instruction. Do not be stubborn like 00:22:31.690 --> 00:22:34.670 an animal. That's the message for us this morning. 00:22:34.809 --> 00:22:40.750 Do not be stubborn like an animal. Now, I don't 00:22:40.750 --> 00:22:45.410 know your heart. You don't know mine. But I think 00:22:45.410 --> 00:22:48.289 we can both bet that there is something we have 00:22:48.289 --> 00:22:52.849 each said or thought or done where our current 00:22:52.849 --> 00:22:57.210 default setting is to say it's not that bad. 00:22:58.750 --> 00:23:02.549 Whatever it is for you, maybe we kind of play 00:23:02.549 --> 00:23:07.650 the blame game, put it on someone else. Maybe 00:23:07.650 --> 00:23:11.210 we kind of downplay it, it's not a big deal, 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:13.950 everyone's overthinking it, it's a minor sin. 00:23:15.190 --> 00:23:18.170 Maybe we just feign ignorance, we pretend we 00:23:18.170 --> 00:23:23.890 never did it, wipe it from our memory. But whether 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:29.930 your sin is as bad as an affair, or a serious 00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:37.930 addiction, or as benign as a white lie, don't 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:43.150 make the mistake of being a fool. The psalmist 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:47.390 says denial is foolish. In his words, to do that 00:23:47.390 --> 00:23:50.630 would be to be like a wayward animal refusing 00:23:50.630 --> 00:23:54.799 to turn left All right, refusing to come to water 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:59.200 and foolish especially because you're refusing 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:04.079 forgiveness. Refusing the offer of God to have 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.900 the weight of your sin lifted off you. The offer 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:16.539 of blessed happiness in Him. Because what's the 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:18.259 thing that's happening here? It's not saying 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:20.440 you're foolish because you need to be more serious 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:23.339 about what you've done. It's not saying you're 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:24.619 foolish because really you should have known 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:27.819 better. It's not saying you're foolish because 00:24:27.819 --> 00:24:30.119 you've got to do a better job. It's saying you're 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:32.839 foolish because you're denying the one person 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:37.380 who can pardon your sin. We're like Adam and 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:41.119 Eve in the garden, bare naked, and we're playing 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:44.720 with fig leaves, trying to cover it up ourselves. 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:49.720 When there is one standing there waiting to forgive 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:56.390 us. waiting to help. So point blank, let me ask 00:24:56.390 --> 00:25:00.690 you this question. Is there an area of your life 00:25:00.690 --> 00:25:05.990 right now where you are acting the fool and trying 00:25:05.990 --> 00:25:11.369 to cover something up? Is there something going 00:25:11.369 --> 00:25:14.430 on in your life where you need forgiveness and 00:25:14.430 --> 00:25:19.190 mercy and grace? Don't leave today without asking 00:25:19.190 --> 00:25:25.349 God. to offer you that. Instruction one, don't 00:25:25.349 --> 00:25:28.430 be stubborn like an animal. Instruction two, 00:25:28.490 --> 00:25:33.309 we'll finish with this, do rejoice in God. Do 00:25:33.309 --> 00:25:36.829 rejoice in God. You see it in verse 10 and 11. 00:25:37.829 --> 00:25:41.049 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's 00:25:41.049 --> 00:25:44.230 unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in 00:25:44.230 --> 00:25:48.430 him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad you're righteous. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:55.160 sing all you who are upright in heart. Three 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:58.440 times in those verses, not the totality of sin, 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:02.000 not just the totality of forgiveness, but the 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:06.640 total experience of joy and happiness and glory 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:09.599 in God. And that's what this passage is all about, 00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:14.059 receiving the blessedness, the happiness of knowing 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:19.910 God's grace for you. Dalrath Davis tells the 00:26:19.910 --> 00:26:23.289 story of a prisoner who finished his time in 00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:26.690 prison and because of what he'd done he kind 00:26:26.690 --> 00:26:28.890 of ruined all his relationships with his family 00:26:28.890 --> 00:26:33.349 and he kind of broken trust, he sent them bankrupt 00:26:33.349 --> 00:26:36.029 and so as he leaves prison he writes them a letter 00:26:36.029 --> 00:26:38.609 saying I'd love to come and visit and so what 00:26:38.609 --> 00:26:40.609 I'm planning to do is to catch the train past 00:26:40.609 --> 00:26:43.049 your house and if you'd like to see me just put 00:26:43.049 --> 00:26:46.730 a white ribbon in a tree as I go past and I'll 00:26:46.730 --> 00:26:49.569 know that you want to welcome me in and if there's 00:26:49.569 --> 00:26:51.430 no ribbon that's totally fine I'll go to the 00:26:51.430 --> 00:26:54.730 next station and I'll never see you again. And 00:26:54.730 --> 00:26:56.710 so he sends this letter and he gets on the train 00:26:56.710 --> 00:26:59.829 and as you can imagine he's pretty nervous thinking 00:26:59.829 --> 00:27:02.390 about what's going to happen on this train and 00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:05.009 with this tree and as he goes close to where 00:27:05.009 --> 00:27:08.180 this tree is he's so nervous and sweaty and and 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:10.039 worried that he asked the passenger next to him 00:27:10.039 --> 00:27:12.299 to kind of tell him what's on the tree. He goes 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:13.900 and sits on the other side and just covers his 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:17.279 eyes and waits to hear what happens. And as the 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:19.420 train goes past, he says, please tell me what 00:27:19.420 --> 00:27:23.400 was on the tree. And the guy says, there's no 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:28.420 ribbon. There's hundreds. The tree is just covered 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:31.079 white from head to toe. There's white ribbons 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:33.839 everywhere. I think your family really wants 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:37.769 to see you again. And you can imagine the joy 00:27:37.769 --> 00:27:41.970 and the glee and this guy's excitement that this 00:27:41.970 --> 00:27:44.789 family that he has trashed and ruined and driven 00:27:44.789 --> 00:27:49.190 away has not been driven away. That they want 00:27:49.190 --> 00:27:54.190 him back. That he's been forgiven. And that is 00:27:54.190 --> 00:27:59.230 the joy of forgiveness. The joy of knowing that 00:27:59.230 --> 00:28:03.210 God sent His Son to make us right with Him. That 00:28:03.210 --> 00:28:06.470 He spills the blood of Jesus to make us white. 00:28:07.730 --> 00:28:10.549 That He doesn't spare anything for our sake. 00:28:12.369 --> 00:28:15.890 The joy that not just our God, but He's become 00:28:15.890 --> 00:28:21.069 our Father. And that He wants us to enjoy it. 00:28:21.710 --> 00:28:23.789 To have the security of knowing that will never 00:28:23.789 --> 00:28:26.869 be stripped from us. To have the assurance that 00:28:26.869 --> 00:28:32.049 we're known and loved. to have the joy that the 00:28:32.049 --> 00:28:36.130 past doesn't matter, that the things we've let 00:28:36.130 --> 00:28:38.549 God down with and others with are no longer on 00:28:38.549 --> 00:28:43.170 our record, to have the joy and blessing and 00:28:43.170 --> 00:28:48.390 happiness of His grace. And so each week, as 00:28:48.390 --> 00:28:52.289 we've done today, we do confess our sin. We do 00:28:52.289 --> 00:28:55.609 open up and tell God and tell each other what 00:28:55.609 --> 00:29:01.670 we've done. but not so that we can be sour and 00:29:01.670 --> 00:29:06.470 look down on ourselves, but so that we can turn 00:29:06.470 --> 00:29:10.869 our eyes to the brilliant, marvellous, glorious 00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:15.430 forgiveness of God who has covered up our sin. 00:29:18.029 --> 00:29:18.509 Amen.