Don't be a Stubborn Mule

Psalm 32:1-9

Someone has written: "Some church members are as stubborn as a mule about doing church work, but sly as a fox in their own business deals; as busy as a bee in spreading the latest gossip, but as quiet as a mouse in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Many are as blind as a bat to see the needs of others but have eyes of a hawk to see the faults of a few. Some are as eager as a beaver about a barbecue, but lazy as a dog about the prayer meetings. Some will roar like a lion when things do not go just to suit them, but they are as gentle as a lamb when they need the preacher of the church. Some are as noisy as a blue jay when calling on the church for advice, but as timid as a kitten about talking to the lost and slow as a snail about visiting absentees and shut-ins. Many are night owls on Saturday night, but bed bugs on Sunday morning; slippery as eels on Sunday evenings and as scarce as hen's teeth on Wednesday nights."

There is a lot of truth in that statement. And it goes with what David wrote in Psalm 32.

[Read Scripture]

Now there is a verse that stood out to me in this reading, and it is in verse 9. (read verse again)

Now let me put that verse into a context that we are more familiar with. Don’t be a stubborn mule when it comes to God.

But isn’t that how we are so many times? Now this chapter, has some powerful words we need to listen to in our heart.

Verse 1-2 The Pleasure We Feel When Sin is Cleansed

· Think about your life, think of something that you did wrong. That was sinful.

· Now think about the day that Jesus came and saved your soul. Do you know that sin that you were thinking of earlier, when you asked Jesus into your heart, he forgave you of it.

· We commit three kinds of offenses toward God.

o We have committed transgressions

o We have committed sin

o We have committed iniquity

· Now transgressions is when we violated the law of God’s Word. This can be knowingly or unknowingly.

· Now sin is when we deliberately choose ourself and our will over God. It is a refusal to God.

· And iniquity is when a person is immoral or wicked in nature or character.

· Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

· Now when we give our heart to Jesus all of that we have done and will do, has been forgiven. And we are blessed.

At the cross, at the cross

Where I first saw the light

And the burden of my heart rolled away!

It was there by faith, I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day!

· How great is that feeling?

· Now if you don’t have peace in you life it may be because your like the next two verses.

Verses 3-4 The Penalty We Face When Sin is Concealed

· (Read verses again)

· Have you ever committed a sin, and you walk around and you feel like everyone knows what you have done?

· Paranoid, anxiety, you know what sin does, it causes depression and low self-esteem.

· When you don’t confess your sin, friend it will eat away at you!

· You know why we don’t confess, because we are embarrassed by it. We fear people and their opinions more than we fear God.

· What does the Bible tell us to do? James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

· Listen, when you live in sin, it won’t only cause you mental health issues, it will cause you physical issues.

· Sin will sap your strength. That is what David said here in verse 3.

· He didn’t have the energy to do what he once could, because the weight of the sin was weighing him down.

· You ever come up to someone who has done something wrong. Their mind is trying to keep it hid, but their body sure does show it. They may be nervous acting, fidgety, impatient.

· Sin will affect you physically.

· David had sinned, and he felt the chastisement of the Lord on his life. Here was once a happy man who was miserable. His joy had turned into sobs and groans.

· David use to be a person people liked to be around, but notice what verse 4 says.

· His vitality is evaporated. He didn’t want to do anything. He was just miserable.

· It takes a lot to hide sin. And though we might hide it from people, we cannot hide it from God.

· Daniel 2:22 “He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.”

· Listen friend, there is a high price tag on sin.

Verse 5 The Pardon We Find When Sin is Confessed

· Does anyone know what happened on June 17, 1972, Fifty years ago?

· Some people broke into DNC headquarters in Washington DC. The place was called Watergate.

· Two years later, evidence linked the break-in to President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign.

The press, like hounds after a fleeing fox, bayed and barked at the heels of the president. At length the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment and pressure for the president’s resignation mounted. That pressure finally accumulated to the point where the president did resign.

Again clamor was raised—this time for Mr. Nixon’s arraignment before the courts. Gerald Ford faced the dismal prospect of the whole set of dirty political linen being once more washed in public, before the courts, in the face of the world for months and years to come. He did an astonishing thing: He pardoned Richard Nixon. Before the former president could be arraigned, tried, and condemned—he was pardoned!

Then the public outcry turned against President Ford—and with some justification. After all, you cannot pardon a man who says that he is not guilty, and Mr. Nixon, to the last, refused to acknowledge guilt.

· Now David had committed sin, and what did he do? He acknowledge it before God!

· Anyone crushed in heart by a knowledge of guilt and sin can come and find the pardon God offers when sin is confessed.

· David said “I will confess!” and God said “I will forgive!”

· There is the pardon! Forgiven! No longer bound to the chains, no longer held captive to sin.

· John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

· Friend, know that no matter what you have done, Jesus can forgive you.

o You a thief – Jesus will forgive you

o You a liar - Jesus will forgive you

o You a cheat - Jesus will forgive you

o You a adulterer - Jesus will forgive you

o You an addict - Jesus will forgive you

o You a murderer - Jesus will forgive you

o You a crook, gangster, or just someone who has done wrong - Jesus will forgive you

· All you have to do is confess it to Jesus.

Verses 8-9 Don’t Be A Stubborn Mule

· Now we don’t have the time to cover this entire chapter in one sitting, but let me draw your attention to verse 8-9.

· Now we have seen The Pleasure We Feel When Sin is Cleansed, The Penalty We Face When Sin is Concealed, The Pardon We Find When Sin is Confessed, but lets make this last point simple – Don’t be a stubborn mule.

· You ever tried to work with a mule or a horse that is unbridled? It is just about impossible.

· You go up to them and you are trying to look after them, take care of them, and show them the way they need to go, but they don’t understand.

· So, what do you have to do, you have to put a bit in their mouth. They have to be restrained.

· Listen, God is not going to come and put the hand cuffs on you, he is not going to come and whip you into going the way he wants you to go.

· Jesus is going to come to you and gently speak to your heart, and tell you to come unto him.

· Now, you can listen to him and follow him, or you can be like the mule and kick and buck and act foolish. A mule doesn’t have understanding.

· You can understand, or you can disregard it, but when it comes to Jesus, and finding forgiveness, love, joy, and happiness, You need to understand, he is the only way.

Conclusion.