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RELEASING THE GUILT OF THE PAST
Psalm 32:1-5
*Psalm 32:1-5 (NIV) \\ 1 Of David.
A maskil.
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
\\ 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
\\ 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
\\ 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Selah \\ 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah*
INTRODUCTION:
A.
[I understand that a naturalist can cut down a tree and by merely studying the rings in the center of the trunk he is able to discover the life history of that tree.
The color and contour of each ring suggests different things.
An expert might say, "Here's a ring that represents a year of drought or here is a time when there was a fire, or lightning or a great deal of rain."]
B.
Something similar happens when God looks at our lives, he takes a piercing look beneath the surface and sees rings, which represent all sorts of different hidden hurts and pains from the past.
Here's a ring left from an alcoholic father, or here's a mark that reveals that time in your life when a relationship that meant the world to you was severed.
Here's a ring that represents the time an upset, stressed out mom said, "I wish I'd never had you."
Or another ring for each sin we have committed in our lives.
Regardless of the rings, whether they are few or many, we all have some.
C.
The question is how do we deal with the past?
Often times we try to cover up our rings, and we try to suppress the past, which haunts them.
It was Cal Thomas who said, "Halloween's not the only day of the year that people put on masks."
When God looks at our lives, He takes a piercing look beneath the surface and sees rings, which represent hidden hurts and pains from the past.
But through trust in Christ we can release the past.
[Maybe you heard about the man who was hired to go and take a census in the hills of east Tennessee.
He knocked, and a teenage girl came to the door.
The interviewer asked, "Is your mom home?"
She said, "She ran off with a moon shiner."
The man continued, "Is your father home?"
"Nah," she replied, "He pokes his head in once a month to take a bath."
The frustrated guy said, "How about an older sister?"
She said, "Nope, she's in jail for shooting at a sheriff."
The guy said, "Is your older brother home?"
She said, "Nah, he's at Harvard."
The astonished census taker gasped and said, "Harvard?
What's he studying?"
The girl said, "Nothing.
They're studyin' him!"]
Transition: Today we're going to study the past in order to realize the negative impact that guilt can have on our everyday lives, and to help each of us realize that through time, and through Christ we can release the past.
*1.
THE REALITY OF GUILT*
At times we all feel guilty, occasionally or constantly, depending upon the nature of our dependencies.
And we find that our secret sin cannot co-exist with inner peace.
The 1st reality of guilt we find is that;
A) Guilt Bullies
Guilt is a bully always picking fights that we can never win.
It casts doubt and undermines trust.
READ Psalm 32:3-4
*Psalm 32:3-4 (NIV) \\ 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
\\ 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Selah*
Once we are old enough to know right from wrong, guilt stalks us whenever we choose wrong.
Our problem is that we know better, but we don't always want to do better.
Listen to Psalm 32:1-4-The first two verses are very positive; David is talking about after he's confessed his sin of adultery with Bathsheba-READ
1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
\\ 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
\\ 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
\\ 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
\\ \\
Now listen to this transition, he shifts to before he confessed his sins.
READ vs. 3-4.
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
\\ 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
\\ \\
That is the reality of guilt.
Perhaps the most painful bullet that guilt fires at us, is the emotional stress-David says, "I'm groaning, I'm sapped of strength"
The 2nd reality of Guilt is that;
B) Guilt Erodes
Guilt erodes our confidence by destroying our relationships.
It keeps us living in our past- groaning, sapping strength.
It brings up the past: the cutting remark, a lustful thought, an arrogant attitude, and a greedy maneuver.
So many are paralyzed in the present because they are living in the past.
It's tough to release the past, especially when we find ourselves reliving it day after day after day.
[Frank Howard, former Athletic Director of Clemson University explained years ago why they didn't have Rowing as a sport, "We won't have any sport where people sit down and go backwards!"]
The apostle Paul said, *"Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on."*
[In 1954 Opening Day of Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds played the Milwaukee Braves.
Two rookies started in that game.
Cincinnati had a rookie named Jim Greengrass who went 4-4 with 4 doubles.
The Braves rookie went 0-4, but that was just the first day.
Who is it that people remember?
Is it Jim Greengrass or Hank Aaron?]
My point is people won't remember how you started; they'll remember how you finished.
You may have a life that is strewn with mistakes, and blunders, but the question is which direction is it heading?
How do you want to finish?
We can be so burdened with guilt that when we pray to God, we hear the static, "Boy is God ticked at you."
And yet that's not the Biblical picture at all.
In reality his reply to the repentant is not one of anger.
*"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
(Matt.
11:28)*
That doesn't sound to me like the description of one who doesn't want you to get personal with Him.
People don't remember how you started, but they'll remember how you finished.
Regardless of your past mistakes and blunders how do you want to finish?
*2.
THE REASONS FOR GUILT*
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me."
(Psalm 51:1-3)
1st reason for guilt is;
! A) Sins of the Past
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