Sermon Series: Sermons from Psalm 23
Sermon #2: God’s Answer for Damaged Emotions:
Scripture Ref: Psalm 23:1-6
Psalm 23:3 ‘HE restores my soul.’
Introduction:
This morning we’re continuing the series from Psalm 23:
In this most beloved PSALM we find 7 CAUSES of STRESS & GOD’S ANSWER to them.
Thus far we have looked at the STRESS of WORRY & the STRESS of BUSYNESS.
This morning we take a look at another form of STRESS, DAMAGED EMOTIONS.
Psalm 23:3 DAVID declares: ‘HE restores my soul.’
This is GOOD NEWS for we all need to have OUR SOUL RESTORED from time to time.
We get BEAT UP by DISCOURAGEMENT & by DEPRESSION, & by DESPAIR. We have FATIGUE & FAILURE & FRUSTRATIONS & FEAR.
We have HIDDEN HURTS from our PAST. We carry BATTLE SCARS, & EMOTIONAL GARBAGE.
But our LORD, our SHEPHERD wants us to be FREE from such STRESS. It is HARD to ENJOY LIFE day by day WHEN we WALKING ABOUT with DAMAGED EMOTIONS.
How does GOD do that?
GOD HEALS & RESTORES WHEN we ALLOW HIM to do 3 things:
1: LET GOD REMOVE our GUILT:
2: LET GOD RELIEVE our GRIEF:
3: LET GOD REPLACE our GRUDGES:
#1: LET GOD REMOVE OUR GUILT:
NOTHING DESTROYS our SOUL FASTER than GUILT & CONDEMNATION:
In Psalm 38 DAVID shares with GOD his EMOTIONS of GUILT & of CONDEMNATION.
Psalm 38:4-8 ‘For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink & are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled: I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease; & there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble & sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.’
Verse #17: ‘For I am ready to halt, & my sorrow is continually before me.’
Verse #22 ‘Make haste to help me, O LORD my salvation.’
We live in a PRESENT SOCIETY where VERY LITTLE GUILT is FELT regardless of the SIN COMMITTED. I mean VERY LITTLE is REGARDED as SIN, even in many of today’s churches.
If LIBERAL RELIGION is going to ACCEPT HOMOSEXUAL MINISTERS then WHAT SINS can they CRY OUT AGAINST & WHAT STANDARD can they RAISE?
However there are TWO PROBLEMS with GUILT:
1: We all have PLENTY of REASONS to FEEL GUILT:
There is NONE PERFECT. We have ALL MISSED the MARK.
We have ALL made OUR SHARE of BLUNDERS.
2: We cannot GET AWAY from GUILT:
It is not only in our HEART & our CONSCIOUSNESS, it is also in our MINDS. Unfortunately, everywhere we GO our MINDS also GO.
Even if we MOVE to another town or another state where nobody knows us, we STILL KNOW us. & we CARRY a GUILTY CONSCIOUS as a REMINDER of the THINGS we DID that we SHOULD NOT have DONE.
There is a gnawing condemning spirit within us.
Proverbs 20:7 ‘The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.’
HOW DO WE GET RID OF GUILT?
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THE GUILT IN OUR LIVES?
There are SEVERAL OPTIONS:
1: We can DENY IT. PRETEND it does not exist.
We can try to MENTALLY BURY the PAST. But that WON’T WORK because it is STILL ALIVE & it WILL RESURRECT ITSELF. Just about the time we think it is good & BURIED in the BACK of OUR MINDS it comes to LIFE at the MOST INAPPROPIATE TIMES. So DENYING GUILT is NOT the ANSWER.
2: We can MINIMIZE IT.
It was NO BIG DEAL. It was NOT that BIG of a SIN. OTHERS have DONE MUCH WORSE than what we have done. But even by MINIMIZING IT, it STILL has a way of RETURNING to our MEMORY. MINIMIZING DOESN’T WORK:
3: We can COMPROMIIZE our STANDARDS.
The MORE we DO a THING the LESS WRONG it seems. If we KEEP DOING SOMETHING OVER & OVER AGAIN our CONSCIOUS will EVENTUALLY become SEARED. But that STILL WILL NOT REMOVE the GUILT. WRONG is STILL WRONG REGARDLESS of HOW we may FEEL about it.
4: We can BLAME OTHER PEOPLE:
We can ALWAYS find a LOOP HOLE where if SOMEONE ELSE had NOT DONE WHAT they DID then we WOULD NOT have DONE WHAT we did.
The PREACHER’S KIDS would NOT be as MEAN if they DID NOT PLAY with the MEMBER’S KIDS.
BLAMING OTHERS DOESN’T WORK EITHER.
5: We can BEAT OURSELVES UP:
That is what MOST PEOPLE DO.
However they NEVER GET THROUGH BEATING THEMSELVES UP.
It is a CONTINUAL PROCESS & they NEVER get RID of the GUILT.
NONE of those things WORK.
There ONLY ONE SOLUTION to OUR GUILT.
GIVE IT TO GOD:
HE is the ONLY ONE that can REMOVE it.
Romans 3:23-24 ‘For we have all sinned & come short of the glory of GOD, Being justified freely by HIS grace through the redemption that is in CHRIST JESUS.’
We have ALL SINNED.
We ALL have a SPIRITUAL RAP SHEET.
Yet when we ASK the LORD to FORGIVE US of OUR SINS HE JUSTIFIES US.
JUST AS IF WE HAD NEVER SINNED.
HE REMOVES ALL OF OUR GUILT.
GOD not only FORGIVES, HE also FORGETS.
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT WE DID:
Our FORGIVENESS is NOT BASED upon HOW BAD we were BUT upon HOW GOOD GOD IS.
IT DOESN”T MATTER WHAT WE DID but WHAT JESUS DID for us.
Romans 5:20 ‘Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.’
JESUS was NAILED to the CROSS so we don’t have to NAIL OURSELVES there.
That is ONE of the MOST AMAZING THINGS in the BIBLE-- GOD, the DIVINE CREATOR of the UNIVERSE CHOOSES to FORGIVE & to FORGET our SINS.
#2: LET GOD RELIEVE OUR GRIEF:
Not ALL of the THINGS in life that DAMAGE us EMOTIONALLY are SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS.
SOMETIMES we GRIEVE because of the THINGS that OTHERS have DONE to us. & the DEARER those PEOPLE are to us the GREATER the GRIEF we bear.
SOMETIMES we GRIEVE because we SEE OTHERS in PAIN & CONFLICTS.
When OUR CHILDREN HURT we also HURT.
There is ONE THING we all have IN COMMON. Each of us will BE HURT in life.
This is NOT HEAVEN, it is EARTH & it’s an IMPERFECT WORLD down here.
Some days will be FILLED with LONLINESS.
Some days our HEARTS will be BROKEN.
Some days we will be FILLED with DESPAIR, not KNOWING WHAT to do.
Some days will be FILLED with SORROW.
PEOPLE who are a VITAL PART of our lives PASS AWAY & they leave an EMPTINNESS & a VOID that CANNOT BE FILLED & we GRIEVE.
PEOPLE who were TRUSTED as OUR FRIENDS for whatever REASON DECIDE to GO their SEPARATE WAY & feeling REJECTED again we GRIEVE.
Dear Abby,
Last year my marriage fell apart after 20 years. I really fought hard to save it, but it was of no use. Now I’m divorced & unwanted. I am writing to you because I feel no one else wants to hear my problems. I feel so bad, & so much of the time I feel so hopeless about the future. Rejection is a pain nobody should have to feel. My grief is so overwhelming & my heart aches with loneliness & despair. I often go home from work to an empty house and just sit there and cry. Everybody else seems so busy with their own lives to care about my problems. I see their lives going on but every minute of mine is torturous for me. I cannot bring back the past or redo it as much as I would like to. Things seem to be out of my control. Please help me. Signed, Broken Hearted.
OTHERS may not know what we are going through but GOD DOES.
GOD HURTS WHEN WE HURT.
GOD wants to HEAL OUR HURTS.
We may be FORTUNATE ENOUGH to have FRIENDS or LOVED ONES who may FEEL for OUR BROKENESS but ONLY JESUS CHRIST can HEAL OUR HURTS.
WHAT do we do when OUR HEARTS are BREAKING?
WHAT do we do when GRIEF OVERWHELMS us?
Do we THROW a HUGE PITY PARTY?
Do we WITHDRAW into a SHELL & ISOLATE OURSELVES from OTHER PEOPLE.
Do we GET TOUGH & DECLARE, “I’ll NEVER LET SOMEONE HURT ME AGAIN?”
Do we just PULL BACK & RESIGN from LIFE & be MISERABLE the REST of OUR LIVES?
There are OTHER ANSWERS. We can LET JESUS RESTORE OUR SOULS.
In the BIBLE DAVID was a man WELL ACQUAINTED with GRIEF.
He UNDERSTOOD how it DAMAGES OUR SOULS WHEN WE HURT.
Psalm 31:9 ‘’Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul & my belly. 10: For my life is spent in grief & my years with sighing, my strength fails me…’’
DAVID KNEW HOW GRIEF DAMAGES the SOUL:
SOMETIMES we GRIEVE because of OUR OWN STUPID ACTIONS.
We do some STUPID THINGS and make some SERIOUS MISTAKES & get ourselves into all KINDS of TROUBLE. It may have been FUN SOWING the SEEDS but the HARVEST from those SEEDS is ANYTHING BUT FUN.
SOMETIMES we GRIEVE because we see OTHERS we LOVE HURTING.
SOMETIMES we GRIEVE because of a LOSS. JOB, HEALTH, MARRIAGE, LOVED ONE
SOMETIMES we GRIEVE because SOMEONE ELSE VICTIMIZED US or HURT US.
DAVID in II Samuel chapter 12:
DAVID gives us some TIPS on HOW to HANDLE GRIEF:
Many of us know the STORY of DAVID.
He committed ADULTERY with BATHSHEBA & then had her HUSBAND KILLED.
A CHILD was BORN from that ILLICIT RELATIONSHIP & when the CHILD was BORN it was VERY SICK. & DAVID was GREATLY GRIEVED.
He got on his KNEES & he PRAYED & FASTED. He said to GOD: “LORD, it’s not this baby’s FAULT, it’s MINE.’ But the BABY DIED anyway.
NOTICE what DAVID did with his GRIEF:
1: ACCEPT WHAT WE CANNOT CHANGE:
II Samuel 12: 21-23 ‘Then said his servants unto him, ‘What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast & weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise & eat bread.’ & he said, ‘While the child was yet alive, I fasted & wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.’
LIFE can bring us some DEVASATING BLOWS.
All the GRIEVING in the world WILL NOT CHANGE the PAST.
There may be people here this morning that are GRIEVING right now. GOD is NOT FINISHED with you. This is NOT the END. It HURTS. But it DOES NOT have to DEVASTATE our LIVES. ASK GOD to HEAL the GRIEF & to USE your LIFE for HIS GLORY.
Isaiah 61:3 ‘For all those that MOURN…. HE will give BEAUTY for ASHES, JOY for MOURNING & PRAISE instead of HEAVINESS.’
We don’t have to be a PRISONER to OUR PAIN. GOD WILL RESTORE OUR SOUL.
PAIN in this LIFE is INEVITABLE but MISERY is an OPTION.
#3: LET GOD REPLACE MY GRUDGES:
GRUDGES come as a RESULT from what OTHER PEOPLE DO to us.
We feel GUILTY about WHAT we have done but we HOLD GRUDGES about WHAT OTHERS have done to us.
We’re going to be HURT in life – that’s just an UNPLEASANT FACT of LIFE.
LIFE is not FAIR. PEOPLE will HURT US.
SOMETIMES it is INTENTIONAL & SOMETIMES it is UNINTENTIONAL.
Either way it STILL HURTS.
But HOW we HANDLE the HURT determines whether we BECOME a BETTER PERSON or a BITTER PERSON.
The DIFFERENCE between BETTER & BITTER is the letter “I”. I MAKE the CHOICE.
I CHOOSE whether it will make me BETTER or BITTER.
Job 5:2 ‘To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.’
The LORD is COMING ONE DAY & HE will SETTLE EVERY SCORE.
NOTHING that ANYONE has done to us, whether it was done INTENTIONAL or UNINTENTIONAL is WORTH us LOSING OUR SOULS over.
In Psalm 42 DAVID PRAYS: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in GOD.’
Do we ever have a CAST DOWN SOUL?
The term “CAST DOWN” was one EVERY SHEPHERD was familiar with.
It is a POSITION SHEEP GET IN & CANNOT GET THEIRSELVES OUT OF.
SHEEP must be IMPORTANT to GOD for they are MENTIONED 186 times in the BIBLE.
SHEEP are BUILT in such a way, that if they FALL OVER on THEIR SIDE & then OVER on THEIR BACK with their LEGS sticking straight UP IN THE AIR they CANNOT GET OUT of that POSITION by themselves. They are HELPLESS to get back on their FEET again.
That POSITION is called a CAST DOWN SHEEP.
VERY SERIOUS CONDITION:
1: Open prey to other animals. Laying there KICKING & CRYING.
2: Gas collects in their stomach & cuts off their air passage & they can suffocate within hours.
3: Their legs go numb in that position.
On a HOT DAY a CAST DOWN SHEEP could die within hours.
They NEED a SHEPHERD to RESTORE their SOUL.
When a SHEPHERD RESTORES a CAST DOWN SHEEP it doesn’t happen IMMEDIATELY.
The 1st THING the SHEPHERD does is to GENTLY MASSAGE their 4 LEGS until CIRCULATION comes back.
Then he begins to TALK REASSURINGLY to the SHEEP. CALMING the SHEEP
“It’s going to be alright.”
Then he GENTLY places his hands UNDER THE SHEEP’S BELLY & LIFTS IT UP & places it UPON ITS FEET.
If the SHEEP still CANNOT STAND on its own the SHEPHERD will CARRY the SHEEP around HIS NECK until it is ABLE to STAND on its own.
What a PERFECT PICTURE of WHAT the LORD wants to do for us.
When we’re on our back CAST DOWN by GUILT or by GRIEF or by GRUDGES the LORD wants to RESTORE OUR SOUL.
We can RESTORE a LOT of THINGS. Car, Picture, Building
But ONLY GOD can RESTORE a SOUL.
Paul:
II Corinthians 4: 8-9 the circumstances of the ministry:
‘We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed
