← ArchiveSunday, May 3, 2015DateMay 3, 2015Speaker—TextPsalmsPassages in this sermonPsalms 230:00Proverbs 206:04Psalms 3812:19Romans 3:2312:30Colossians 312:49Psalms 3114:082 Samuel 1217:41Psalms 3718:48Isaiah 6120:28Job 521:03Job 1127:33TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Psalm 23 says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides quiet or still waters. He restores my soul.0:30He leads me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod, your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows and surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.0:56Let's pray. Father God, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight today. Lord, as we have witnessed this dramatic production from our student ministry and God, it just reminds us that it so fits exactly where we are in your word today, that you set us free. God, I pray that today, one, at the sound of my voice,1:26from the sound of the music that's been sung, the drama that's been presented, Father, one in this room will understand the freedom that you give, that you can rip down any emotional barriers that we might have and set us free. We give you all the praise, all the glory, and all the honor.1:55In Jesus' name we pray. And the church said, amen. God's antidote or prescription, I should say, for damaged emotions. I don't think there's ever been anyone that I've ever met that didn't have some emotional damage somewhere along the way. Every one of us go through these kinds of emotional situations. We go through damaged situations in our own life. The Bible says, he restores my soul.2:25That's not a hope. That's not a I wish. It is a fact. It is a promise that the Lord Jesus Christ restores our soul. As we began this series several weeks ago, actually three weeks ago, we began by reading the entire text. And every Sunday, we're going to continue to read the entire text, and we're going to drive this text into our hearts. This is not, it is used a lot in funerals, but it's not a funeral text. It is a life text.2:53It is a text that gives us understanding on how to overcome the obstacles of life, the emotional damages that are going on in our lives. It gives us a prescription for living. We all need to have our soul personally restored periodically. That's why I think occasionally it's okay to have a series of renewal meetings. I spent the better part of my preaching career, crisscrossing America, in what we call in Baptist work, revival preaching, revival services.3:23And when someone said, are you an itinerant evangelist? Well, I was categorized as that in the early stage of our ministry. But I felt more like that I was a revivalist because I brought, hopefully brought an encouraging word. Yes, we had people come to faith in Christ in those meetings, but it was more for the church to be revived. I believe in the 21st century, we in the North American church,3:49we need to have our hearts restored. We need to, we've been beat up. We're discouraged. We're depressed. We've been despaired. We have fatigue. We've had failure and frustrations and fears. We all have hidden hurts from our past. We carry the wounds, battle scars that we might have, emotional garbage. We put on the backpack of damaged emotions.4:17God wants to take away and remove all of those emotional barriers, emotional garbage from our midst. He wants to, and he can, restore our soul. Now, I've been taking one verse each week, but today I'm just going to confess, I could not get the entire verse in one sermon or we'd be here till later on this evening.4:47So today we're going to cover the A part and next week we're going to cover the B part. I feel it that important that we break down this one phrase, he restores our soul. I want to give you the path of emotional healing. If you've brought your outline, it's inside your worship folder. Write along with me. Here's some principles for us to consider today. Let God remove your guilt, or I said my guilt.5:15Let God remove my guilt. Nothing destroys a Christ follower's journey than the baggage of guilt. There's two problems with guilt. Number one, we have plenty of reasons to feel guilty. We are imperfect people, aren't we? There's not one perfect person in this room today. We all have some kind of guilt. We've all made mistakes in our life.5:44By nature, we are guilty in our own lives. Number two, we can't get away from it. It's in our minds. Although we may confess it, it still comes popping up into our minds. Even if we go to a new location, join a new church, be involved in a new ministry, it still carries along with us. Proverbs 20, verse 27 says, The Lord gave us a mind and a conscience. We cannot hide from ourselves. So that begs the question, how do we get rid of the guilt?6:11How do I deal with the guilt in my own personal life? Number one, you can't deny that it's there. Sometimes we want to deny. Well, it's just okay. It's just put away. It's not in my mind. Pretend it doesn't exist. You can bury the past, but it doesn't work. It's still alive. It resurrects itself in some other means or some other avenue. It's just about the time you think you've buried it,6:40the feeling comes back into your mind in the most appropriate time. You can deny it all you want. Denying guilt does not relieve the guilt in our lives. Secondly, you can minimize it. Well, I'll just shrink it down. The guilt, I'm not denying it, Pastor, but I'm going to just shrink that down. Just lowering the standards. You feel guilty about something you say? I don't believe it's wrong anymore. Kind of a fortune cookie mentality.7:10You know what I'm talking about. Commit the sin twice. It's not as bad as the first time. The tenth murder is not near as harsh as the first murder. Now, I'm not saying any of you are murderers in this room, but I use that as an extreme. But it doesn't relieve the guilt. If you minimize it, it still does not relieve it. If you deny it does not relieve the guilt, you can, thirdly, rationalize it. Now, this is where we become, as a society, we rationalize everything, don't we?7:40They'll say this thing, well, everybody does it. Your kids will say that. Well, everybody does it. Everybody, who are they? Oh, they're doing it. Who are there? Who are they? Everybody doesn't do it, first of the place. Not everybody does this. We can't justify it by somebody else's behavior. We can't justify it because they do it to justify us.8:07Rationalize means to rationalize. That's what that actually means. That's what it means. We rationalize. I'm guilty. I'm convinced in my heart. Somebody knows it's wrong in my head. It's okay, but your heart always wins out. You can't deny it and make it go away. You can't even minimize it and relieve the guilt. You can't rationalize it and have the guilt removed.8:36But some people say, well, I'll just blame it on somebody else. The blame game. Well, it's their fault. I have, I am, I got a personal illustration about that. We had a software issue with our, in our ministry recently, and an upgrade of our accounting software. And that may not be big to y'all, but when you're running a nonprofit organization, your software has got to be right. I don't know a whole lot about software.9:06I can barely spell it. But this software was not operating properly. In fact, the matter is, we were losing data. Had we not backed up with our accounting firm, who does our audits and stuff in our accounting, we would have been in serious trouble, because we want to make sure that we keep this stuff correct. And I know these accountant guys said, absolutely, you need to keep this correct. And so this database, we had to reorder the software. And when they did, the company that we ordered the software from online charged the ministry twice.9:31Now, you say, well, that's not that big a deal. Well, $446.96 twice out of your account. Let me ask you how you feel about that. And I called the guy. And so I get this call center over in Pakistan somewhere. And he says, oh, and I'm saying, wait a minute, can you speak English for me, you know? He says, yes, I got it. He says, we did not do this.10:01And my bank statement, our accountant says, it's there. It's on the account. It's been charged twice. He said, it's your bank. And I said, time out. First of all, the bank only receives the charge to the credit card or the debit card from you. And the guy said, it's not my fault. And I said, will somebody take blame? And I thought, well, maybe this is a time for me to point the finger at Debbie.10:29Because she was the one who ordered it. Then we get the statement. We print it off, the email. And it said, Brad, one, Sage Peachtree Software ordered, $446.96. But the bank statement says two. Now, praise God, the authorization only authorized one of those purchases. And that dollar came off. But here's what happened. That $446 the second time came out of those funds.10:59It was held for about four or five days. Now, you may be independently wealthy. And that might not be a big deal for you. Brad is. It wouldn't be a big deal for him. But it was kind of stressing us out. Because I didn't know if I was ever going to get that money back or not. We need those resources for other ministry opportunities. I'm telling you this. Is that nobody wants to take the blame for their own actions. You blame other people.11:27The solution with your guilt is only, the only solution that we have is Jesus. That's it. No self-help book. We'll get it. Another counseling session, while that may help you resolve and point that out and help you formulate a plan. And I'm all about the counseling scenario. Don't come to me. We got gifted people in that area. If you come to me for counseling, you're going to probably leave away suicidal once you get my counseling.11:54So go to a professional, those people that can help you. You see, I believe in helping people through the counseling. But the only person that is going to relieve the guilt that's in our lives is the Lord Jesus Christ. So let God remove your guilt. Let's read some verses of Scripture. Psalms 38, verse 4 and 6 is, My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. I bow down and brought low, and all day long I'm about mourning.12:24Romans chapter 3, verse 23 and 24. For all has sinned, yet God desires us not guilty, declares us, I should say, not guilty, if we trust in Jesus Christ, who mercifully, freely takes away all our sins. Colossians chapter 3, excuse me, chapter 2, verse 13 and 14. In the Phillips translation version says this,12:53He has forgiven all your sins. He has utterly wiped out the evidence of broken commandments, which always hung over our heads, completely annulled it by nailing it to the what? Say it with me. Cross. He has nailed that to the cross. So let God remove my guilt. Number two, the second path to emotional healing is let God relieve my grief.13:19Folks, about two weeks ago, three weeks ago is when I wrote this sermon and tweaked it and pushed some stuff into it, and God kept giving me stuff, and now back and forth. We've all gone through some grief lately. One of our dear brothers, we've not lost him. We know exactly where Rick Whitehead is, amen? He is worshiping constantly at the presence of his Savior, Jesus Christ.13:50So we've not lost him. We've just sent him on to get the choir warmed up for us, amen? But we all need to have our grief relieved, do we not? The Bible tells us in Psalms 31, verse 9, Lord, have mercy. Have mercy because I am in misery. My eyes are weak from so much crying. My whole being is tired from grief.14:20Let God relieve my grief. Recently, you know, I have a corporate ministry that I speak in chaplain and pastor several businesses here in the Birmingham area. One of my large companies has several hundred employees, and I was speaking two weeks ago at their morning WHIPs meeting, and it's a work-in-progress meeting with all their employees for the Shelby County, Jefferson County area,14:47and there's about 150 of them in the room, and I share the Bible story, and I'm in a series called The Invisible War with them right now, dealing with the wars within. And after I finished speaking, one of the employees that I had not personally met yet came up to me. She said, Pastor, I have something for you. And she handed me this little note, and I want to read it to you. Dear Pastor, last year my marriage fell apart after 20 years.15:16I really fought to save it, but it was of no use. Now I'm divorced and unwanted. I'm writing you because I don't know anybody else to share my feelings with. I feel so bad so much of the time. I feel hopeless about the future. Rejection is a pain nobody should have to feel. My grief is overwhelming, and my heart aches with loneliness.15:46I often go home from work to an empty house and just sit and cry. But there is no one to hold me when I cry. Everybody else is too busy with their own lives to care. Life goes on for everyone else but me. It continues to drag on minute by torturous minute. I feel so emotionally crippled and helpless to change.16:16I can't bring back the past or redo it as much as I'd like to. My situation seems beyond my control. Pastor, please, please, please, please help me mend my broken heart. After she handed me that, and she walked off and went on about her job,16:43I read that later on that morning, and it broke my heart. Here is a person who is grieving over a situation that I later found out she had nothing to do with. Her ex-husband had multiple affairs and ran off with a girl 25 years younger than him. Left them.17:13Left them. Left her. Hadn't paid the house payment in months, and she was an emotional wreck. And I said, oh, my goodness gracious. So I called her, and I set up a time. And Deb and I sat with her and ministered to her. And I talked with her about letting God relieve her of her grief. 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel 12, verse 22 and 23.17:41Then David got up from the ground. He said, while the child was still alive, I fast and wept. But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back to life? Folks, let me tell you something. Number one of letting God relieve you of your grief. Accept what cannot be changed. You got to accept it. You got to accept it and move on. Secondly, you got to play it down and you got to pray it up.18:10You got to play down the situation and pray up the situation. Don't exaggerate it. Dedicate it. Give it to the Lord Jesus Christ. Playing is inevitable. We will all face it. Misery is an optional choice in our lives. We will all go through the misery. Pain is going to happen to every one of us. But we choose to live in that misery.18:39So we need to ask God to help us play it down and pray it up. Listen to what the Word says in Psalms 37. Blessed are those who mourn. But too long we take our mourning and we hold them into moanings. We want to moan about it. We want to complain about it. We want to wallow around in it. Commit your ways unto the Lord, Psalms 37 says. Trust Him. Commit your ways.19:08Play it down and pray it up. And thirdly, focus on what's left and not what's lost. 2 Samuel 12, verse 24. Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. God, folks, is not finished with you. If you've gone through some pain and suffering, if you've gone through some trials and tribulations, God is not finished with us.19:38Focus on what's left. Focus on what's before you, not what's behind you. Don't minimize the past, but exercise focusing on the future. God's not finished with us. This is not the end. It hurts, yes, but it doesn't have to devastate you every step of the way. Open your heart, open your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, and let Him put the salve of the healing oils on your lives.20:03Ask God to remove your guilt and relieve your grief. He, He is in that business. You're still alive, and He's got work for us to do. God is not through with you. The rest of your life can be the best of your life. I love what Isaiah 61 says. Listen to what it says. To all who mourn, He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness.20:30You and I do not have to be prisoners of the pain. That is a choice. Let God relieve you of your grief. Let God remove your guilt. Thirdly, and I'm done. Let God replace my grudges.20:57Job 5 verse 2 says, So don't worry yourself to death. With resentment would be foolish. To worry yourself to death would be foolish. Senseless thing to do. You are only hurting yourself with anger. Only hurting you. Every one of us, including this old preacher, we've all gone through the grief process.21:23We've all gone through the guilt process. We've all had the grudges in our lives. I love what this verse of Scripture says. Get rid of all bitterness. Forgive each other as Christ, the Lord God, has forgiven you. You see, the word bitter can be changed to better by taking the I and replace it to an E.21:48Bitter, B-I-T-T-E-R, can be changed to better, B-E-T-T-E-R, and the whole meaning completely changed. We can walk away with a bitterness in our heart, the grudges, holding them, making that choice. Or we can say, Lord Jesus, take that grudge from my heart and move forward. I'm going to speak directly to you today.22:19And if you're a guest here today, please bear with me. But I need to speak to this body. As your transitional pastor during this time, I'm going to speak precisely to those of you that are members of Bethel Baptist Church. For the last several months, I've been, since August, your interim pastor, and I am honored, blessed beyond imagination, giddy with excitement because the best days are ahead.22:48But there are some of you that are constantly wallowing in the bitterness of the past. What happened five years ago with a former staff member needs to be nailed to the cross once and for all? What happened to your last pastor where he left, how he left? He is a man of God doing what God has called him to do. You need to nail it to the cross and say, praise you, Lord Jesus.23:17The best is yet to come. This church, you as a faith family, was at one size numerically, and now you're at a different size. But the best is yet to come. If you continue to wallow in the grudges and wallow in the past and feel guilty about what happened and point blame on somebody else other than you, we will never move forward.23:44Now, you may not like what I just said. That's okay. I was looking for a place to go when I came here. And my God, who supplies all my needs, will supply me another spot to serve. But it's time for your pastor that is standing in this pulpit leading this organization24:10to tell you it is time for us to finally bury the Conway past. And it's finally bury what happens throughout the entire scenario that caused people to flee this place. Let me tell you something. If they left, God bless them. We didn't want to lose them. We don't ever want to lose anybody. But if they don't want to be here in the trenches building the disciples, making disciples, and building the kingdom,24:39bless God, we don't want them. So quit worrying about it. Quit worrying about it. Let God remove and replace the grudges with his glory. And watch him do his work.25:05Don't worry. He's in charge. It's not your church. It's not my church. It's not Chris Burns' church. It's not any deacon's church. It is his church. And if we're going to surrender to the lordship of Christ, bless God, it's time to come to this altar and nail it once and for all.25:27And says, under as long as he leaves me here, I am looking forward, not backwards. Because every time you let that grudge come back up, Satan wins. And on my watch, excuse me, English teachers, he ain't going to win.25:53He ain't going to win. I've read the back of the book. He doesn't win anything. But he keeps us stirred up. So, if you want to talk about what happened, talk to Brad. I ain't got time for it.26:24Amen? Now, those of you that are guests here, we want you to join in because this bunch is ready to move on. Amen? Amen? So, if you're a guest, amen, brother. I got two people like it.26:49Let God remove your guilt. Let God relieve you of your grief. And let God replace your grudge the way it would have, could have, should have been. And give you the opportunity the way it ought to be and the way it's going to be. This train is moving on. Get on board or get out of the way. Because we're going to run over you. Amen? Now, I know there's going to be some of you going to fold your arms, be mad at me, come up to me afterwards.27:18That's okay. That's all right. But we're going to leave you. It's time for us to replace the grudges and move forward. I love what this word says in Job 11, verse 13 and 16. Put your heart right. Reach out to God. Then face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory like floods that are past and remembered.27:47No more. Remembered, no more. I know there's a lot of great self-help books. We don't need one. We really don't. We don't need another counseling session. What we need is to surrender to the shepherd. We need the Savior to reach down from the halls of heaven and remove the guilt.28:17Remove, remove the guilt. Replace the grudges. Revive our grief and our hearts. We need to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take complete. Take the past. The past is the past. We can't do anything about it. All we can do is follow him. Take up your cross today and follow him.28:43Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. He will relieve all that grief. He will remove all that guilt. And he will stamp out all those grudges. If you believe the first two words of this text, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.29:12He restores my soul. Let's pray. With heaven.More sermons on Psalms →
