Sermon – “How to get up When Sin Drags You Down”
Ps 51:1 (A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.)
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Introduction: Almost a year after Uriah’s death on the Battlefield, King David had married Bathsheba and she had given birth to a son. The child became ill and die as a part of God’s judgment for David’s sin. The Psalm came about after the Prophet Nathan confronted David about his great sin. David’s sin of adultery, deception, and murder was exposed. God sent David a wake-up call. It took a divine message from God through a well-crafted parable to arouse the dormant conscience of David. David was indeed guilt! In a state of utter brokenness, shame and fear, David penned this Psalm. He was a great king, very passionate, the commander-in-chief, with a heart after God, yet Satan trapped him in the net of sin. David reigned in an era where most king did what they wanted, when they wanted. God’s king must operate by a different standard. When David’s conscience was awakened, he expresses a heartfelt desire to be right with God.
Many may attempt to make excuses for David’s sinful act, others may try to justify his actions, but God see his sin clearly. Maybe David could have avoided sin if he had gone out to battle, or if Bathsheba had not bathe in an open pool, or if Uriah had gone home to be with his wife, but all the what ifs in the world cannot blot out or cover David’s great sin. Satan himself was in the middle of this plan tempting David to wander from the path of righteousness. Satan tempts us to sin by telling us, “You deserve this” “You can get by with it!” No one will ever know about it.” Then, when we give in to the temptation and fall into sin, he says, “You’ll never get away with it.” “Everyone is going to find out.” “And you call yourself a Christian.”
When believers are genuinely saved, Satan knows that he can never have their souls, so he seeks to drag the believer down, discourage them, and cause them to live defeated lives. Satan delights in leading Christians into a backslidden condition, to steal their peace, power, and joy. Then he accuses them of being hopeless and a disgrace. “You have sunk so low, you will never get back to your place in God.” He says, but remember, Satan is a liar! There is always a way, when you have a gracious heavenly Father. The songwriter says, “We fall down, but we get up! A saint is just a sinner who fell down and got back again.” Yes, we not only can get back up, we can get back in line, in our place and complete our assignment.
Psalms 51 reveals several noteworthy things I want to share. First, Believers still have the capacity to sin. Secondly, Sin always has serious consequences and finally, Believers Can experience a Comeback after a fall. I want to talk about “How to get up when sin drags you down.” This lesson is important because unrepented sin can sideline a believer. Sin has caused many believers to stay away from regular Church attendance, while others have continued attending with no joy, peace or power. They have believed Satan’s lie and disqualified themselves, and left their assignment. Their gifts remain unused and nonproductive. Even this pandemic has caused many to abandon church attendance, and believe they don’t need it anymore. It is time to get back up, get back in line, and become useful again in the kingdom of God. Let’s consider the fact that Believers still have the capacity to sin.
1. Believers still have the capacity to sin. All of us must be aware of this fact. King David was not the exception to the rule, he was a typical believer. Salvation save the sinner, but it does not take away the ability to sin.
1Co 10:12, 13 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Some believers claim to have reached perfection, but they are deceived. As long as we are here on earth, we are subject to temptation and sin.
1Jo 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Please understand, sin cannot take away our salvation, but it will drag us down spiritually and emotionally. Sin breaks our fellowship with God and so times we others also. The wages of sin is death. When we choose to live with unrepented sin, something dies! Secondly, Sin always has serious consequences.
2. Sin always Has Serious Consequences. Psalms 51 written by a sinning saint who knew and experienced the full consequences of sin. The Psalm is a plead for mercy. Never be deceived, sin carries a severe penalty. Pr 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. In other words, sin will drag down any nation. Sin will soil any saint. Sin will pollute the mind. Sin will sting the conscience. Sin will sadden the heart and sicken the body. Sin will sour the spirit and sealed the lips from praise.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
You can hear the cries of David for mercy for there is no justification for his actions. Only the lovingkindness of God can restore him. David feels dirty and seeks cleansing. A true believer can never be comfortable in the hog pen of sin. So, David acknowledges his sin and confesses that his sin was always before him. The spirit of God, nor his own conscience allowed him to forget. Guilt has a way of eating us up from the inside out. David cannot forget his faithful servant Uriah, or Bathsheba, or the innocent child’s death, nor could forget sinning against God who had made him king and gave him his heart’s desires. David’s sin left him feeling like a slave rather than a son. So, he begs to be clean.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
David desires complete restoration of his relationship with God. A believer without joy is most miserable. Joy id a byproduct of a right relationship. If your joy is missing, there might be something between you and God. Notice sin has started affecting David’s physical body. Sin replaced his joy and peace with worry and fear. He lost his song and his lips were sealed. David’s spirit was wrong! A backslider will become cantankerous, disgruntle, critical, sour, and judgmental. A believer in sin is impossible to satisfy. They have a kind of spiritual indigestion. They are in pain and they push their pain on others. They only soultion is true repentance.
3. Believers can get back up when life drags them down.
“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.”
Yes, believers can still sin, Sin has serious consequences, yet believers can experience a comeback by Having confidence in God’s great love, confess their sin in repentance and allowing God to cleanse and restore them.
David had confidence in God’s love. He knew he guilty of every charge, but God still loved him. No matter what you have done or how far you have fallen, God still loves you and is waiting for you to come home. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more! For great sin, God has great mercy and grace!
David confessed his sins to God. David understood that God is looking for an honest heart. God is not looking for excuses or alibis, just come clean. Stop hiding in sin and confess them. If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
David allowed God to cleanse him. David like us need cleansing from the inside out. When allow God to cleanse us great things will take place. God removes the guilt, takes away the condemnation, frees us from the voice of the accuser of the brethren and cast our sins in the sea. When the sin is removed, the penalty is gone, our joy and fellowship is restored. We will find ourselves back on target and back on task.
Has sin dragged you down, don’t stay down, this psalm provides a path to recovery. That’s what every believer desires. Don’t you want that for yourself? You can have it right now. Where are you today? Are you far from God floundering in the sea of sin? Are you drowning in guilt and shame? The hog pen is not the place for a believer. You can have restored joy and peace. God is waiting for you to come back to him, to his church, to your assignment. The message of Nathan the prophet was used to arouse the conscience of King David, let his message to you arouse your conscience today!
