What Happens When I Mess UP
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5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude
13 But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the Lord your God, he will change his mind about this disaster that he has announced against you.
1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
INTRODUCTION:
INTRODUCTION:
Let me just begin with this statement:
Just because you and I are saved does not mean that we will not "mess up" once in a while. And lest you are here this morning as one who thinks he is above falling, I would remind you, greater than you have fallen.
QUOTE: C. S. Lewis once said, "When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less."1
The truth of the matter is that any one of us can make a mess of his life. If we are not careful, the Devil can creep in... ever so subtly, and before you know it, we're in trouble. I've got good news...there is room at the cross for you.
That's what this message is about. It is about forgiveness. And let me say, Jesus is willing to forgive any sin, no matter how serious you may think it is He will forgive it if you ask Him to.
Some people have the idea that certain sins are so egregious they cannot be forgiven. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the one you are unwilling to confess.
ILLUS: Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!2
ILLUS: I am reminded of the story by Watchman Nee, who tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. "No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I'm losing my salvation." Nee said, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir.
Then he concludes: You are Jesus Christ's heir because it is for you that He died." We are Christ's heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace.
Let me give you three we will discuss today:
I. Living the Lie
II. Lightening the Load
III. Loving the Light
I. LIVING THE LIE (1 John 1: 6, 8, 10)
I. LIVING THE LIE (1 John 1: 6, 8, 10)
Slide advance
Here's two mistakes’ Christians sometimes make when they mess up:
A. They are unwilling to admit they have sinned
A. They are unwilling to admit they have sinned
Believe it or not, some people live in a world of self-delusion. Some think they are too good to have personal problems or besetting sins. They do, but they won't admit it: "Not me, maybe somebody else. I'm too spiritual to mess up. I've been saved for twenty years. I read my Bible and pray every day."
QUOTE: G. K. Chesterton said: "The one spiritual disease is thinking that one is quite well."
QUOTE: Donald Gray Barnhouse said, "Christ sends none away empty but those who are full of themselves."3
2 In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.
2 People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.
The second mistake Christians make when they mess up is:
B. They are unwilling to confess the sin
B. They are unwilling to confess the sin
Slide Advance
Note once again, 1 John 1:8
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
And, what usually happens when people are unwilling to confess their sin?
1. They cover it up:
We all remember the story of Achan, who tried to hide the wedges of gold and silver. We remember how Ananias and Sapphira attempted to cover their sin. Listen, friend, you can hide your sin from others, but you cannot hide it from God. In Acts 5:3, Peter said to Ananias and Sapphira,
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.
a. Proverbs 28:13,
13 People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
2. They blame others:
Remember what Adam said to God when he sinned? "Eve made me do it." Eve said, "The Devil made me do it." Let me quote a verse:
12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.
3. They measure themselves by others:
12 Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!
4. They think they can get by:
Psalm 10:6,
6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!”
5. They think they have plenty of time:
11 When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.
I can tell you this; if my life were in a mess today, I would not be waiting on God to lower the boom. 1 Cor 11:31-32
31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
II. LIGHTENING THE LOAD (1 John 1: 9)
II. LIGHTENING THE LOAD (1 John 1: 9)
Slide Advance
Sin is a heavy load to carry. We have two choices; we can continue to carry it ourselves (not a good idea), or we can give it to Jesus...He is our sin barer. Isn't it kind of silly to continue to carry our sin when Jesus has already borne it for us? Isa 53:4-5
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
ILLUS: I saw a documentary some time ago about women in a third world country who made their living by carrying burdens for others. At this one particular location was a hill. Those who were willing to pay a small fee could have one of these women carry their load to the top. It was amazing to see these women--many of them elderly, load these tremendous burdens on their backs and make their way to the top of the hill.
Here's my point: Jesus took our load to the top of the hill called, Calvary— Where He borne our sins for us; so, why not leave it there?
HYMN: Years ago, William R. Newell wrote the famous song, "At Calvary." Allow me to share just the first stanza and the refrain:
Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.
Mercy there was great, and grace was free.
Pardon there was multiplied to me.
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.
Friend, if you have been to Calvary, Jesus has pardoned your sins. What a blessing to know that we are forgiven. The point is: Why, then, as Christians, should we carry sin anymore? If your life is in a mess--if you have "messed up," why not simply confess your sins and get that load off your back?
Two brief things to do in order to lighten the load:
Two brief things to do in order to lighten the load:
A. Acknowledge the sin
In Psalm 51:3b , David said,
Psalm 51:3b (NLT)
3 "My sin is ever before me."
Then in Ps 32:5a, he did the right thing: "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hidden.”
Psalm 32:5a (NLT)
5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
Acknowledging our sin is half the battle. Being willing to confront ourselves with the mess we have made goes a long way in correcting the problem. However, there is another step...
B. Confess the sin
Psalm 32:5a (NLT)
5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
This is sometimes the hardest part--taking the next step, simply saying to God, "I'm sorry, please forgive me." Friend, this may seem a difficult thing to do, but when the heart is truly broken and unrepentant, it will not be so difficult. You will find this is the right road to travel. We find that to be true in the following story:
ILLUS: Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada, was completely isolated for some time. But recently a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has one road leading into it, and thus, only on one road leading out. If someone would travel the unpaved road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only way he or she could leave---by turning around.
Each of us, by birth, arrives in a town called Sin. As in Wabush, there is only one way out--a road built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around. That complete about face is what the Bible calls repentance, and without it, there's no way out of town. --Brian Weatherdon.
Let me add; this is true for the person who has never been saved, the person who has never received Christ; and it is also true for the believer. When you arrive in the town of sin, the only way out is by the same road you came in. If you find yourself in a mess, simply turn around. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
III. LOVING THE LIGHT (1 John 1:4, 5, 7)
III. LOVING THE LIGHT (1 John 1:4, 5, 7)
Slide Advance
A. Forgiveness received: (
A. Forgiveness received: (
1 John 1:7b (NLT)
7 and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
There nothing that can cause us to love Jesus more than a forgiven life. When sin reins, the love-relationship is broken. You no longer desire to come to Church. You no longer want to be around the brethren. Bible reading falls off; and prayer becomes a burden, rather than a blessing; however, when we receive forgiveness all that changes. It's almost like getting saved all over again.
That's why in Hebrews 10:22, we are told to
22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
That's why David said, Psalm 51:10
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
B. Fellowship is restored
B. Fellowship is restored
1 John 1:7a (NLT)
7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other,
When we have fellowship with Jesus, we are fellowshipping with the One who is "Love." 1 John 4:16 ,
16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
There is no sweeter fellowship than the fellowship and communion we have when our relationship is right with God.
I want to ask you a question this morning. Are you loving the Light? I mean are walking with Him, do you have that sweet fellowship the forgiven heart enjoys?
Friend, if you have made a mess of things, if you need forgiveness today; it is as close as a prayer :
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
CONCLUSION:
CONCLUSION:
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I MESS UP?
1. Living the Lie: Unwilling to admit the sin and unwilling to confess the sin.
2. Lightening the Load: Acknowledge the sin and confess the sin.
3. Loving the Light: Forgiveness received, and fellowship restored.
Here is a story to illustrate the point of today’s message.
ILLUS: 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
Let me say in closing, the biggest mistake is not necessarily in the sin or the mess we have made, the biggest mistake is in putting off what we know we need to do-- asking God for forgiveness.
AMEN