The Passion of the Forgiven
Griffith Baptist Church – 4/19/09
P.M. Service
Text: Psalm 51:14-19
Key verse: Psalms 51:15 – O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Premise: Praise and a humble spirit characterize the passion of those who experience the ongoing forgiving power of God.
The Introduction
Sen. Mark Hatfield recounts the following history: James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek, with one hand and Latin with the other.
In l880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn’t find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn’t locate the bullet. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over.
In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president’s body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died—not from the wound, but from infection.
The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually killed him..
So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God. - Roger Thompson
Source unknown
When sin is forgiven and fully released, there is tremendous freedom.
There should also be a renewed sense of worship and belonging to God that drive us to please Him more and more.
There are three aspects to what should happen to you when you feel His loving hand of forgiveness.
Body
1. Our Worship of God is More Powerful – 14-15
A. Deliverance from guilt brings peace and confidence in worship (14a)
i. When God forgive, He forgives completely
ii. He removes sin completely - Psalms 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
iii. His Son’s sacrifice made our sin completely forgivable - Hebrews 10:2, 10 - 2For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
iv. He will never recall our sins again - Hebrews 10:17 - And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
v. This is the product of a spiritual mind - Romans 8:6 - For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
B. There is the strong desire to proclaim worship of the one who has forgiven you (14b)
i. When God shows His mercy and forgiveness, there is a deep sense of thankfulness
ii. Psalms 86:12-13 - 12I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
iii. There is the good feeling of indebtedness to a perfect God who loves us
C. There is a sense of freedom to express openly your love for God (15)
i. When we are not weighted down by sin, we can express worship openly
ii. Sin is a chain that enslaves us and wears us down in our worship
iii. There is hypocrisy that comes with trying to worship the God we are currently offending.
iv. Many times, it is not that we are so busy that we become weary, but that there is sin in our lives that we are not owning up to that makes us weary
v. This is what freedom from sin produces - Psalms 63:3-5 – 3Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 4Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
2. Our Relationship to God is More Personal – 16-17
A. The knowledge of God is deepened by a sense of knowing what pleases Him more (16)
i. Micah figured this out – Micah 6:6-8 - 6Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
ii. Sacrifices are not being demeaned here, but what is driving the sacrifices.
iii. God is not pleased with sacrifices when the motive is not right!
iv. When we know what pleases God, and do it, we draw closer to Him
B. Humility before God is the most acceptable sacrifice one can give (17)
i. Matthew 5:3 – Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
ii. Even before service and sacrifice comes humility
iii. When a person cannot serve with humility, his or her service will suffer
iv. There is power in the service of one who is humble before God
a. Big mouths and harsh words that are constant are blowhards
b. There is very little if any humility in one who has to constantly berate in order to say something.
c. True power is subtle and effective when coupled with humility
v. Humility draws us near to God - James 4:6-10 - 6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
3. Our Service to God is More Pleasing – 18-19
A. When we serve properly and completely, we know that God will be the one who provides and protects (18)
i. This is all about pleasing God first - Philippians 2:13 – For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
ii. Our goal and purpose is to please our God and stay true to Him
iii. When we sincerely please Him we will soon learn that we can never out give Him
B. Service done God’s way in God’s time will produce the blessings of God (19)
i. When we serve with a right and sincere heart, than He is pleased with sacrifices, not before.
ii. A whole and forgiven life is far more pleasing to God and enhances our service to Him.
iii. It releases us to be our best for Him.
Conclusion:
Is there sin you are holding onto that is keeping you from being the best you can be for God?
Have you totally and completely embraced His forgiveness in the past or do you still hold on to your guilt and shame?
Maybe others are holding you to the guilt of sins you have already taken care of with God. Don’t let them do that to you.
When you are truly forgiven, it should reenergize you to serve God openly and fervently.
