Proverbs | Into The Open (May 9th, 2021) - Mike Armstrong

All right.

Well, we are going to get into God's word now.

If you'd grab your Bible, turn it to Proverbs 28.

Proverbs 28.

Now, as you're getting flipped over there, I think I've mentioned this before, but uh our family, the Armstrongs, uh have a dog now.

Okay, I know that historically I have been very much uh not a pet guy for sure, but uh we have a dog, he's about six months uh old.

His name's Leo, and uh earlier this week, uh I noticed uh that he was laying at the top of the stairs, uh chewing on a sock.

Okay, and this is something that has become a bit of a routine for him.

He'll go into one of the rooms, grab a sock, chew it, and we have to go through the whole thing of getting the sock back from him.

And so I go upstairs and I, you know, give him the scolding and and and take the sock back from him, but instead of you know trying to keep it away from me, he's just kind of staring at me, not doing anything, and just lets me take it.

And I thought, huh, that's not always how that goes.

And so I took it, I put it away, I go back downstairs, and I just happened to like look over my shoulder back up at him, and um and I saw that he had something else in his mouth.

Okay, all I saw was this like flash of white, and he does one of these like quickly, like closes his mouth and tries to be still.

And I was like, Leo, come on, I go back upstairs.

I'm like, you gotta drop this.

And now at this point, he like he can't look at me, he can't, you know, no eye contact, he he refuses to give it to me.

I'm putting my hand out, I'm like, drop it, drop it.

And finally he does, he he spits out this like nasty glob of chewed-up toilet paper, okay, that he had grabbed out of the bathroom garbage can, and so I you know, get rid of it, and immediately he he like slumps down in this pile of of shame, okay, for for being caught, being exposed.

Okay, now to be clear on all this, he and I worked it out.

Okay, we worked out our differences, everything's good between us now.

You know, I pet him, his tail wags, it's all it's all fine.

Okay, but this this whole exchange that that he and I had, as ridiculous as it all is, uh, got me thinking about something much more serious, and that is how how you and I often choose to handle our sin or our sinfulness.

You know, are we the kinds of believers who you know who tend to try and hide our sin?

Do we tend to try and cover it up and you know, uh our rebellion, our our struggles, our tension?

We don't want people to know.

We don't want, we don't want to face that, we don't want to just come out with it.

You know, maybe for us we've learned to, you know, to just accept living with that burden of the guilt and the shame, and it's kind of become commonplace, and even that strain on our various relationships with people and and the Lord, we've learned to just kind of accept that as normal and as a common way of life.

Are we those kinds of believers?

Are we covering up our sin or listen, are we growing in this?

Are we growing more humble?

Okay, just recognizing our sin for what it is.

Are we growing more confident in Christ, who our Savior is?

Are we growing confident in the truth of the gospel, of our of our salvation and the reality that God wants to pour out grace and mercy he longs to forgive?

Are we shaken by that and in awe of these things?

Are we convinced as believers that a holy life free from sin is so much better, far better, than a life where we give in to sin, pretend it's not there, or cover it up?

Are you and I, are we becoming more willing to just be honest and expose that brokenness that's that's there within us, where we're confessing it, where we're where we're dealing with it well and adequately and biblically.

Okay, so that we can so that you and I can function properly as as Christ intends, so that we can enjoy the life and and and be who He's truly called us to be.

Listen, all of these questions really get us now to our kind of our main thought for today, and it's this on the screen.

Hey, wisdom, remember we're talking about wisdom here.

Wisdom is bringing my sins out into the open instead of concealing them.

Remember, wisdom, as we've been talking about through this series, is not just knowing a bunch of stuff.

Wisdom is actually living in line with what we know to be true, what we know to be best.

Okay, so wisdom is I'm not gonna turn a blind eye to my sin, I'm not gonna pretend it's not there, I'm not gonna cover it up.

I'm gonna bring it all out into the open where it can be removed and dealt with, where we can grow, where Christ can be honored, where relationships can thrive.

And for this, we're gonna look at Proverbs 28, verse 13.

Proverbs 28:13

Uh, read it along with me.

Here's what it says it says, Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper.

Okay, but he who confesses and forsakes them, notice, will obtain mercy.

All right, so let's just start at the beginning of this and work through this and look at some of the words and and what they what they show us here.

Okay, first of all, it says, whoever conceals, okay, whoever conceals, conceals is fairly straightforward.

It means to cover.

Right?

At least sometimes we put on concealer, right?

I mean it means to keep hidden.

Okay, it can even mean it can even mean keeping information from other people.

Okay, so whoever conceals in this way, whoever conceals his transgressions, which means our offenses or our wrongdoing, again, the sin, right?

Whoever does this will not uh prosper.

Okay, prosper, I think, simply put, just means succeed.

You're not gonna succeed if you do this.

Okay, but but this word can also carry the meaning that whoever whoever conceals his transgression will not, here it is, be in good condition.

Okay, that that's also what the mean uh the meaning of prosper is.

It means you will not be in cond uh good condition.

Okay, what which means that there's there's actually damage done to the person who is committing the sin.

Which I think that makes sense.

I don't know if that's news to many of us.

You know, I think we we experience this this damage, this lack of prospering uh when we commit sin in on multiple levels, in various ways.

Absolutely, we you know the damage is is spiritual.

Right?

There's a lock, uh a loss of intimacy between us and God whenever we choose to sin.

Whenever we choose to go against his commands, okay, it doesn't mean our salvation is blown to smithereens and no longer, but it means that the the the the intimacy that's there, that the closeness that's there is ruined.

Okay, so spiritually, spiritually we're we're damaged.

How about mentally?

Think about it.

The more you choose to sin, the more you're gonna choose to suffer.

Right?

And mentally it's part of it as well, because as you choose to sin, you're you're automatically not believing what is true, and you're living according to a lie.

You continue to give into those things, your your mind is saturated in lies all the time.

That's just not good for mental health.

It's really not.

Mentally we suffer.

We we do damage to ourselves.

We're not in good condition.

We don't prosper when we sin.

Physically, physically, we can we can cause ourselves damage as well.

The scriptures uh talk about a physical damage uh that can happen to us, sickness, illness.

Right?

You're you're you're anxious when you give in to sin, and that and that anxiety has a problem on you mentally, but also physically.

And of course, um relationally.

Relationally, when we sin, we we do damage.

When we sin, it always affects somebody else.

You don't sin in a vacuum.

You may not understand and see all the ways that your sin might be affecting other people, but there's always some relational component when we sin with other people, and of course, we've already talked about this with the Lord Himself.

Okay, but look at this uh from Psalm 32, uh with me here.

And we're gonna get to the whole the whole Psalm actually a little bit later, but here's what these two verses say.

It says this for when I kept silent, okay, so that's the idea here of concealing your transgressions, keeping silent, okay, not talking about not dealing with it.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away.

It wasted away through my my groaning all day long.

Okay, what this is, is it's a picture of the burden and the misery that concealing our sin creates within us.

Right?

Our bones, like the physical problems are there, right?

The groaning, the mental strain on us.

But the verse continues, or verse 4 says, For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.

That's the conviction of the Lord.

Okay, the conviction of the Lord is this heavy burden on us, right?

It's just it's not a good, it's not a good thing for us to continue to go down this road.

It's the heavy hand of the Lord goes on us when we give in.

And then the verse continues, it says, My strength was dried up.

Okay, physical strength, mental strength, emotional strength, spiritual strength.

It's dried up when we choose to not deal with our sin.

It says, as by the heat of summer.

As by the heat of summer, there's this drain on our vitality that happens when we conceal our transgressions, when we keep quiet about it.

Right?

Just like the wilting power of the scorching sun.

It's just it's so important for you and I to uh to stop and and from from you know, time to time just give full attention, full consideration to the negative personal effects that our sin has on us.

And we haven't even really unpacked and gotten into the effects that it has on other people and and and certainly on the Lord.

Right?

Well now, why is it so important to be aware of all these things?

Well, because we know that that sin is also pleasurable.

It's it's fun, it's enjoyable.

Sin will kidnap our awareness of the negativity of sin by by by by duping us and tricking us into being enamored by by the tantalizing promise of of the fun parts, right?

Of the good times, of the selfish benefits of giving into sin.

Right?

And so when we allow ourselves to get sucked into that, into those empty promises, listen, we're in trouble.

We really are.

Now, if you're in a position today, you know, right now, where you where you're the person that these verses are describing, you know, and you're experiencing these negative effects and and and there's there's consequences that you're starting to see, or or very much they're being pressed down on you.

Or for you, you're giving in to sin, but but and you haven't said anything, you haven't dealt with it, and you haven't told anybody, but but like there's fear about doing all of that, and you don't want to be exposed, and and yet you know that like I can't control this, and and this is becoming a bigger problem, and I'm in real trouble here.

Listen, if that is you and you are experiencing that very thing, listen, you need to hear the rest of Proverbs 28, verse 13.

Proverbs 28:13

Here's what it says.

Okay, look at it.

It says, but okay, it's such a transitionary word here.

I just gave you bad news, but means good news is coming.

It says, he who confesses and forsakes.

Okay, confesses literally means this.

It means to throw.

That's what the the the word actually is here.

It means to cast, right?

Like casting a fishing rod or or or a bow and arrow.

The idea is to get something as far away from you as possible.

That's what confession of sin is.

I want this out.

I don't want to hold tightly to this and keep it within.

I want this gone.

I want it to be, I want it to be away from me.

Whoever confesses and forsakes, forsaking means to abandon the pursuit.

I'm not gonna chase after that, you know, those things anymore.

I'm gonna go the other direction.

I'm gonna forsake my sin.

Whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain.

Look what it says: mercy.

You will obtain, you will secure, you will get mercy from God.

Okay, mercy is, by definition, it is it is not getting what you do deserve.

That's what mercy is.

Not getting what you do deserve.

And ultimately, as human beings created by God, what we deserve because of our sinfulness, because of our rebellion against our holy creator, because you and I are deeply unholy because of our sin, what we deserve is wrath.

We actually deserve punishment.

We deserve death, we deserve hell, which is what the Bible describes, and we we deserve separation from God.

We don't deserve to be near him, we don't deserve to be in a relationship with him.

Okay, but remember that's what the verse says, but when a person brings their sin out into the open before God, you know, I think there's absolutely a truth of bringing our sin and confessing our sin before man as well.

Scriptures talk about that in James.

Okay, when we do that, instead of the you know, the wrath and the punishment and the hell and the separation and all of that, we we obtain mercy.

We obtain forgiveness.

We we we we receive that that that expression of God's love towards us, right?

This is obviously made so clear through the gospel, through our salvation.

That is why Christ went to the cross.

He went to absorb the wrath of God that was intended for you and I on himself.

He took on all the punishment for all people, for all sins, for all time, past, present, and future.

And so when we admit that and we confess our sin and invite Christ to be our Savior and to remove our sins and give us his righteousness because we need righteousness, then we are, then we we are shown mercy.

We are given, we are, we are saved, we are given new life, we are given purpose in this life, we're given, we're given heaven in the end.

These are all the things that we get.

And so, as believers, now it's only logical, okay, to continue this pattern of confessing and forsaking.

Right?

That's it.

If God was merciful to save us, and so many of us can think back to the to the moment that we were justified, declared righteous, because we recognized where we were and where our sins put us in our standing with God, we recognize what Jesus did for us and we we we confess our sin and receive salvation.

If God was merciful to save us then, how much more will we experience the mercy and the love and the grace and the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father now?

Right, as we continue to just deal honestly and openly with our brokenness and our and our failures and our weaknesses.

Right?

It's such a good thing that we can be real about this.

Because God loves us, He will give us grace, He will give us mercy, He will transform us.

We don't need to hide, we don't need to be in fear.

We're saved.

Here's what 1 John 1, verse 6 to 9 says.

1 John 1:6–9

It says, if we have fellowship with him, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with uh with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin.

If we say 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 cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What amazing truth.

What amazing news for each one of us today for all believers.

You and I, we have every single reason to confidently, right, and and with humility and with gratitude and with joy in our hearts, repent and forsake and turn away, confess our sin so that we can continue to experience God's loving mercy in our lives.

Now, you know, as we as we talk about all of this, we look at a verse like this, and we consider the the reality, the urging, the encouragement to deal with our sins honestly.

I think it makes so so much sense that we would take communion together as a church.

And that's exactly what we're gonna do.

Communion was was something that Jesus did for the first time with his disciples in the moments before he was led away and crucified.

He gathered with them, he had a meal with them, the the Last Supper, and he took a loaf of bread and he took some wine and he said, These two elements are representative of my body.

This bread represents my body, which is about to be broken.

This this wine, this cup symbolizes my blood, which is about to be shed.

And he encourages as they partake in that, he encourages them to continue to remember his death until he comes.

And that and that is something that we have the pleasure to do as a church, and we have done it many, many times.

And one of the things that's so great about communion is it gets our minds, it gets our focus centered on Jesus.

It gets our our attention on him and what he has done.

Because listen, one of the temptations that that we have whenever we have a sermon or or start to think about our sin and our brokenness and all of those things is we tend to, deep down, we think, you know what, I need to improve myself.

I need to try better tomorrow.

Yeah, I've got a couple of issues, but rather than confess them and deal with them biblically, I'm just gonna try and improve myself.

I'm gonna fix myself.

The communion shows us that no, it was it was Jesus, and it's Jesus alone who can fix us.

It's Jesus who who transforms us, it's Jesus who heals, it's Jesus who forgives, it's Jesus who transforms.

I said that.

And so as we think about communion today, we want to give you a few moments to consider these things and get your own hearts right with the Lord.

If you're at the office right now, uh you'll know you have one of the cups that has the wafer in it, it has the juice in it.

If you're at home and uh you're gonna take communion uh with us uh from your own home, you can uh maybe press pause on this right now and go and gather the elements and bring it back and rejoin us.

But the idea here is to get our hearts right.

The idea is to rejoice and remember the death of Jesus Christ.

Remember what he went through, remember what he secured for you.

Remember that it is him who brings you close to God, not your own self-righteousness, not your own ability to fix things.

All of that stuff is ultimately powerless.

And so we want to remember these things.

And as we do this, and as we go uh to prayer now, I want to read to us from uh Psalm 32, because Psalm 32, I read a couple of verses earlier, but it really kind of gives us a it kind of unpacks what Proverbs 28, 13 gets at.

And so think about this.

And as you're grieving your sin and you're you're committing to confessing it to the Lord, and maybe asking, you know, for help from somebody else, or confessing to the person that you've sinned against, as you deal with all of that, consider this.

Yes, it is scary as we're in that moment and thinking about being real and honest, but think about the blessings that come as we confess our sin.

It's so much better than hiding it and holding on to it.

I want to read from Psalm 32, and then I'll pray, and we can take communion on you.

But here's what it says, Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent my bones wasted away, through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

I acknowledged.

Acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.

I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found.

Surely in the rush of great waters they shall not reach Him.

You are a hiding place for me.

You preserve me from trouble.

You surround me with shouts of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go.

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Be not like horse or a mule without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but but but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts the Lord.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

God, as we read these verses today, Lord, and as we consider our brokenness, Lord, certainly part of it is being convicted.

Certainly part of it is recognizing that sin brings guilt and shame.

Sin brings problems.

And sin is more powerful than our ability to control it or fix it.

But Lord, part of this confession and repentance, and really what we're getting to here is the joy that comes when that is done properly.

Lord, when we rest and rejoice in the forgiveness that Christ offers us through the gospel.

Would we rejoice?

As much as your death was an awful thing, it brings us life.

And so, Lord, I pray that as we think about these things, that our hearts would be true before you, Lord, do a mighty work in your spirit, in the in the homes and the lives of our people, those who are gathering at our office.

Lord, would you sweep through and help us identify the areas that need to go?

Lord, would you give us hope, knowing that you are on the mission of transforming us, bringing glory to yourself through what you're going to accomplish in us.

Direct us, God.

Give us joy in this.

Lord, give us mercy.

Lord, we thank you for the many promises of Scripture that when we bring these things before you, you are you are righteous.

You forgive us.

You give us mercy.

You pour out grace.

I pray that we would see your love in this, Lord.

As we consider these things to be honored, we pray this all in your name.

Amen.