Your Peace Of Mind

Your Peace of Mind

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - April 28, 2013

*Mark Sutton told a story about Bronko Nagurski. He played for the Chicago Bears back in the 1930's, and was a charter member in the Pro-football Hall of Fame. Bronko was known for his strength and rugged nature. That really came in handy on the afternoon he and his teammates were horsing around in their hotel room. Bronko fell out of their second-story window and landed on the sidewalk!

*The gathering crowd caught the attention of a policeman, who demanded to know, "What’s going on here?" -- Rubbing his head, Bronko replied, "I really don’t know. I just got here myself." (1)

*Sometimes life knocks us out of a two-story window, and we wonder, "What in the world is going on?" In times like these, we need peace of mind, and the Word of God shows us how to find it right here in Psalm 32.

1. The first key to peace of mind is confession. We must confess our sins to God.

*Wouldn’t it be nice if after we received Jesus, we never sinned again? -- It would be fantastic! But that’s just not the case.

*David was certainly saved. He talked about it in vs. 1&2. There we see a man who was at peace both with God and with himself. David said:

1. Blessed (or happy) is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

*By faith, David was looking ahead to the salvation that God would provide through the promised Messiah. And now, on the resurrection side of the cross, we know that the Messiah has come! His name is Jesus Christ. And the only thing that can truly cover our sins is the blood of Jesus Christ.

*Jesus shed His blood when He died on the cross to take all of the punishment for our sins. And He rose again from the dead. So when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our sins are forgiven, our record is cleared, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is put in our account, and we are saved!

*David was a saved man. But he was also a sinful man. That’s why he lost his peace. Most of us are familiar with the dark story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his cover-up conspiracy to murder her husband.

*We could try to take false comfort by saying, "I’ll never do that." But that smug attitude doesn’t get us off the hook. We are all sinners, and there are many ways to sin.

*In fact we human beings are pretty much experts when it comes to sin. This must be true, because God used fifteen different words in the Old Testament to describe our sins. David used four of those words here in vs. 1&2:

[1] First, "transgression:" That’s defiance, revolt, open rebellion against God. "Get out of my face! -- I’m gonna do what I want to do!" That’s transgression.

[2] Then "sin:" That's a falling short, missing the mark. This is the person who is really trying their best, but just can’t seem to make it. Think of the man who walks all the way across the desert, but can’t crawl that last ten feet to the waterhole. That’s the idea behind the word "sin."

[3] Then there is "iniquity." That’s something warped, bent, crooked, twisted, or perverse. It might just be a warped outlook on life, or something much worse.

[4] And there’s "guile." That’s dishonesty, lying to others and lying to yourself.

*Unfortunately, there are many ways for us to sin, and sometimes we will.

*Jon Allen told about a grandmother who was teaching her little grandson about Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. That little boy said: "If I had been in the Garden of Eden, and the devil offered me an apple, I wouldn’t have eaten it. I don’t even like apples!" -- "Yes," said his mamaw, "but suppose he had offered you some candy?" Her grandson thought about it a moment and wisely replied, "Oh well." (2)

*The devil knows just where to hit us. He knows where we live. He knows where our weak spots are. So sometimes we will stumble into sin.

*David did too. He was a saved man, but he was also a sinful man. That’s why he lost his peace. And David shows us that covering our sin brings pain. In vs. 3&4 he pointed back to a painful time in his life. David said:

3. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.

4. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.