Grace Wins

Scripture Invitation

As we open our hearts to receive God’s Word tonight, I invite your prayerful consideration to the book of Psalms, chapter 51.

It is there the Holy Spirit has highlighted the context for our sermonic time together.

Bible Passage

Psalm 51:1–2, 10–12, NKJV

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence.

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Introduction

Tonight, we are talking about healing from guilt.

Not a headache.

Not a backache.

Not a sickness that can be seen from the outside.

We are talking about the wound that nobody can see.

The wound called guilt.

Guilt is what happens when your past keeps arguing with your future.

Guilt keeps showing you what you did.

Guilt keeps reminding you what you said.

Guilt keeps replaying the people you hurt.

Guilt keeps whispering, “You are disqualified.”

Guilt says, “You cannot pray like that.”

Guilt says, “You cannot worship like that.”

Guilt says, “You cannot be used by God again.”

But I came with a Word tonight.

You are not the worst thing you have ever done.

You are not the darkest chapter in your story.

You are not disqualified because you failed.

You are not finished because you fell.

(Pause)

The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart.

But David still made a terrible mistake.

That means being saved does not mean you will never fail.

But it does mean you have somewhere to go when you fall.

You may have messed up.

But you do not have to stay messed up.

You may have fallen.

But you do not have to live on the floor.

You may have sinned.

But sin does not get the final word when you bring it to God.

Tonight’s declaration is simple.

Grace wins!

The Story of David and Uriah

Come with me 1000s of years ago to Ancient Isreal

David was the king of Israel.

He was a worshiper.

He was a warrior.

He was a psalmist.

He had defeated Goliath.

He had survived Saul.

He had been lifted from the pasture to the palace.

God had given David victory after victory.

But Second Samuel, chapter 11, says that there came a time when kings went out to battle.

But in the text we find that David stayed home.

And sometimes trouble begins when you are in the wrong place during the wrong season.

David was supposed to be with the army.

But David was on the roof of the king’s house.

And from the roof, David saw a woman bathing.

Her name was Bathsheba.

David asked who she was.

And they told him she was the wife of Uriah.

David knew she was married.

David knew she did not belong to him.

But David allowed a glance to become a desire.

And the desire became a decision.

And the decision became a sin.

Here is the danger of temptation.

It often begins small.

It begins with a look.

It begins with a thought.

It begins with a conversation.

It begins with an opportunity.

But if you keep feeding it, it will eventually demand a sacrifice.

Bathsheba became pregnant.

And now David had a problem.

David did not just have a sin problem.

David had to face the consequences & complications of his sin.

So David tried to cover what he had done.

He called Uriah home from the battlefield.

David got Uriah drunk and told him to go home and rest with his wife.

David thought that if Uriah went home, the pregnancy could be explained.

But Uriah had more honor drunk than David had sober.

Uriah refused to go home while the army was sleeping in tents and fighting for Israel.

Uriah said, in essence, “How can I enjoy comfort while my brothers are in battle?”

Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house.

David’s cover-up did not work.

So David created another plan.

He wrote a letter to Joab, the commander of the army.

And David sent that letter by the hand of Uriah himself.

Uriah was carrying his own death sentence.

He did not know the letter contained instructions for his murder.

Uriah went back to the battlefield.

The army moved forward.

Then the army pulled back.

Uriah was left exposed.

And Uriah was killed in battle.

David committed the sin.

David planned the cover-up.

David arranged the murder.

And David thought the matter was over.

But when people stop talking about something, that does not mean God has stopped seeing it.

You can hide something from people.

But you cannot hide anything from God.

You can bury the evidence.

But you cannot bury the truth.

You can protect your reputation.

But you cannot heal your soul by pretending.

David took Bathsheba into his house.

The child was born.

The palace continued.

The kingdom continued.

The meetings continued.

The responsibilities continued.

But David was not right on the inside.

And then God sent the prophet Nathan.

Nathan did not come to embarrass David.

Nathan came to confront David.

Nathan told David a story.

He said: There was a rich man with many sheep.

There was a poor man with one little lamb.

The rich man took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.

David became angry.

David said the rich man deserved judgment. “This man shall surely die”

And Nathan looked at David and said,

“You are the man.”

David had been judging somebody else.

But the Word turned the light on him.

David could no longer blame the circumstances.

David could no longer hide behind the crown.

David could no longer pretend he was innocent.

David had to face what he had done.

And when David finally faced himself, he finally ran to God.

That is where Psalm 51 comes in.

David begins to pray.

“Have mercy upon me, O God.”

Not because David deserved mercy.

But because God is merciful.

Not because David could defend himself.

But because God could cleanse him.

Not because David had an excuse.

But because God had grace!

Point One: Healing Begins When Hiding Ends

David said in the text, “I acknowledge my transgressions.”

David did not say, “Everybody does it.”

David did not say, “I was lonely.”

David did not say, “I was under pressure.”

David did not say, “It was Bathsheba’s fault.”

David said, “I acknowledge my transgressions.”

That is where healing begins.

Healing begins when hiding ends.

You cannot heal what you refuse to reveal.

You cannot surrender what you keep defending.

You cannot be delivered from what you keep calling normal.

Confession does not tell God anything He does not already know.

Confession brings you into agreement with God.

Confession says, “Lord, You are right.”

“Lord, I was wrong.”

“Lord, I need You.”

And there is power in telling God the truth.

You may be able to fool the congregation.

You may be able to fool your family.

You may be able to fool your friends.

But you cannot fool God.

And the good news is that God already knows everything about you and still invites you to come near.

God is not waiting to destroy you.

God is calling you to healing.

(Pause)

Somebody has been carrying guilt because you are trying to punish yourself into peace.

But you cannot beat yourself into righteousness.

You cannot shame yourself into holiness.

You cannot condemn yourself into freedom.

Only God can cleanse the heart.

Only God can restore the soul.

Only God can take guilt and turn it into gratitude.

Stop running from the wound.

Bring the wound to the Healer.

Point Two: Your Sin Is Before You, but Your Savior Is Above You

David then says, “My sin is ever before me.”

That is how guilt works.

Guilt keeps replaying the scene.

Guilt keeps reopening the conversation.

Guilt keeps dragging yesterday into today.

Guilt says, “Remember what you did.”

Guilt says, “Remember who you hurt.”

Guilt says, “You will never change.”

But David did not stop with what was before him.

David looked up to the God who was above him.

He cried out: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.”

(Pause)

Your mistake may be before you.

But mercy is still available.

Your failure may be in your memory.

But grace is still in God’s hands.

Your past may be loud.

But God’s Word is louder.

(Pause)

The enemy wants you to confuse conviction with condemnation.

Conviction says, “This is wrong, but come home.”

Condemnation says, “You are wrong, so stay away.”

Conviction leads you to repentance.

Condemnation leads you to hiding.

Conviction draws you toward God.

Condemnation pushes you away from God.

The Bible says in First John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

That means God does not just forgive the behavior.

God cleanses the believer.

God does not just remove the record.

God begins to restore the person.

Grace does not say the sin was acceptable.

Grace says the sin does not have to control you forever.

(Pause)

Guilt looks backward.

Grace looks forward.

Guilt says, “You did it.”

Grace says, “God can redeem you.”

Point Three: God Wants More Than a Better Image

Then David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”

David did not only ask God to fix his reputation.

David asked God to fix his heart.

He knew the behavior was connected to something deeper.

The adultery came from the heart.

The deception came from the heart.

The murder came from the heart.

And David understood that if the heart did not change, the pattern would return.

So David did not pray, “Help me look better.”

He prayed, “Create in me.”

There are some things a new job cannot fix.

There are some things a new relationship cannot fix.

There are some things money cannot fix.

There are some things a vacation cannot fix.

(Pause)

You can change your location and still carry the same heart.

You can change your clothes and still carry the same attitude.

You can delete the number and still carry the same temptation.

You can leave the environment and still need God to change you on the inside.

David needed more than a new image.

David needed a new heart.

That is the healing God provides.

God does not just make you look better.

God makes you different.

God does not just hide the stain.

God washes you.

God does not just give you another opportunity.

God gives you another spirit.

And when God changes your heart, your choices begin to change.

Your conversations begin to change.

Your relationships begin to change.

Your priorities begin to change.

Your appetite begins to change.

Your response to temptation begins to change.

You do not change so God will love you.

God’s love gives you power to change.

You do not obey to earn grace.

Grace teaches you how to obey.

You do not live holy to prove that you are perfect.

You live holy because God is healing you.

God is not just repairing your reputation.

God is rebuilding your character.

Point Four: Do Not Let Guilt Steal Your Joy

Then David prayed, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”

Notice what David asked God to restore.

Not his crown.

Not his position.

Not his public image.

David asked God to restore his joy.

Guilt will make you serve without joy.

Guilt will make you sing without freedom.

Guilt will make you sit in church while your mind is locked in yesterday.

Guilt will make you believe that God can forgive everybody else but you.

But if God has forgiven you, you do not have permission to keep sentencing yourself.

If God has released you, stop volunteering for chains.

If God has washed you, stop calling yourself dirty.

If God has restored you, stop introducing yourself by your failure.

You may have made a bad decision.

But God can give you a new direction.

You may have wasted time.

But God can redeem your days.

You may have hurt people.

But God can teach you how to walk in humility.

You may have lost your testimony.

But God can give you a testimony of restoration.

You cannot go back and edit yesterday.

But you can surrender today.

You cannot change what you did.

But God can change what you do next.

You cannot erase every memory.

But God can remove the power of the memory.

Your past may be a part of your story.

But your past is not the author of your story.

Jesus is still writing.

Do not let guilt steal the joy that grace paid for!

Point Five: Your Healing Will Help Somebody Else

David then said, “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways.”

David understood that his healing was not only for him.

His restored life would become a witness.

(Pause)

There are people who need to know that God can forgive.

There are people who need to know that failure is not final.

There are people who need to know that God can bring a person back from a terrible place.

Your testimony is not that you never fell.

Your testimony is that God would not let you stay down.

Your testimony is not that you never failed.

Your testimony is that mercy found you.

Your testimony is not that you fixed yourself.

Your testimony is that God created a clean heart in you.

Do not glorify the sin.

Glorify the Savior.

Do not celebrate the failure.

Celebrate the grace that brought you through it.

When God heals you, your scars can become evidence that God is faithful.

Your regret can become wisdom.

Your pain can become compassion.

Your failure can become a warning.

Your restoration can become somebody else’s hope.

God does not waste a surrendered life.

He can use a healed heart!

Closing

As I Close

I need you to know tonight that:

Yes, David had a crown.

But David also had guilt.

Yes, David had a throne.

But David also had shame.

Yes, David had power.

But David also had a broken heart.

He had sinned against Bathsheba.

He had destroyed Uriah.

He had damaged a family.

He had abused his position.

But when Nathan confronted him, David did not stay hidden.

David came to God.

And when David came to God, he discovered that mercy was waiting.

The same God who saw David’s sin saw David’s sorrow.

The same God who exposed the wound provided the healing.

The same God who corrected David restored David.

I do not know what you did.

I do not know what you said.

I do not know what memory has been chasing you.

But I know this.

You are not beyond the reach of God.

You are not beyond forgiveness.

You are not beyond restoration.

You are not beyond usefulness.

You are not beyond your future.

The enemy may say, “You are finished.”

But God says, “I am still working.”

The enemy may say, “You cannot come back.”

But mercy says, “Come home.”

The enemy may say, “You cannot worship.”

But grace says, “Open your mouth.”

The enemy may say, “You have no future.”

But God says, “I still have purpose for you.”

(Pause)

David said, “Have mercy.”

And mercy answered.

David said, “Wash me.”

And grace washed him.

David said, “Create in me.”

And God renewed him.

David said, “Restore me.”

And God gave him joy again.

He had a past.

But he also had a God.

He had a failure.

But he also had forgiveness.

He had guilt.

But he also had grace.

He had consequences.

But he also had a future.

And if God can restore David, God can restore you.

If God can clean David, God can clean you.

If God can forgive David, God can forgive you.

If God can use David, God can use you.

You may have fallen.

But you are getting back up.

You may have cried.

But joy is coming again.

You may have failed.

But purpose is calling again.

You may have been ashamed.

But praise is rising again.

You may have lost your way.

But the Shepherd is leading again.

You may have been wounded.

But the Healer is working again.

You may have been guilty.

But grace has made a way.

I said grace has made a way.

Grace over your failure.

Grace over your family.

Grace over your mind.

Grace over your memories.

Grace over your mistakes.

Grace over your future.

(Pause)

Your past may explain you.

But it does not own you.

Your mistake may be part of your story.

But it is not the end of your story.

Guilt may have spoken first.

But grace gets the final word.

So lift your head.

Dry your eyes.

Release the shame.

Drop the weight.

Walk in mercy.

Walk in forgiveness.

Walk in freedom.

And declare it with me.

Grace wins.

Grace wins.

Grace wins.

Guilt cannot stay.

Grace has made a way.

The past is behind you.

Purpose is before you.

Mercy is over you.

The Holy Spirit is within you.

And the God who forgave you will lead you.

The God who cleansed you will keep you.

The God who restored you will use you.

You are forgiven.

You are restored.

You are being healed.

You are free.

And your declaration is this tonight:

“I am not my past. I am a testimony of God’s grace.”