HONESTY: The Blessing Of A Transparent Life
# 3 Seeking Him Psalm 32
Introduction
Illustrate:
Small girl was impressed by two things:
-How difficult it was not to tell a falsehood from time to time.
- How may people were always telling her that it’s a sin to tell a lie.
- She decided to investigate.
- starting with her father.
- Dad: "She asked, have you ever told a lie?"—"Well, it wouldn’t be true to say I’ve never lied."
- "How about Mom?"---Dad: "Well, yes, when she felt the truth would hurt, I guess she lied."
- "How about Gramps?" –Dad: "I guess he’s like the rest of us. If pressed he—"
Girl: (interrupting): "Dad, you know it’s going to awful lonesome up in heaven—with nobody there but God and Jimmy Carter."
Isn’t it true that everybody lies? Sometimes it’s . . .big, carefully fabricated lies.
little, "white" lies.
by our silence, to hide the truth.
by our actions, i.e., things done to give a better impression than is really true.
And we have all kinds of different venues for our deception. We lie . . .
at work—on our expense account, giving a better impression than is true to our supervisor,
at home—not being honest with our spouse, our parents, our children.
at recreation—lying about our abilities (or lack thereof!).
at school—to our teachers, friends, classmates.
The greatest deception is not being honest before God. We often seek to cover our sin so that we feel like we’re in better condition spiritually than we really are.
Illustration: 1If we were entirely honest every time we sang a hymn or gospel song, here’s how=
some of the old favorites might come out:
"I Surrender Some"
"Take My Life and Let Me Be"
"I Love to Talk about Telling the Story"
"It Is My Secret What God Can Do"
"Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following"
"Just as I Pretend to Be"
- To experience God in revival, - must begin with getting honest before God about
ourselves, our sin, and our need.
- The well-spring of honesty will yield a river of redemptive results.
Story of David, Bethsheba, Nathan 2 Samuel 11-12
* Year Went by Before David Honestly Confronted His Sin.
As David "comes clean," we hear from him the incredible blessings of honesty and transparency.
Read Psalm 32
* Blessings in store for those who honest with God about sin and need
Honesty ....
I. Brings the blessing of FULL FORGIVENESS (vs. 1-2).
David uses three words to describe this blessing of forgiveness in these verses:
1. Your Sins are FORGIVEN
Heb = lit = to "take away, clear away, carry away."
2. Your Sins Are COVERED
Heb - = "to completely conceal."
Hebrews were covered from the wrath of God against sin by the blood of the lambs on the doorposts,
- so person who appropriated what Christ has done on the cross is covered by the blood of Christ.
3. Your Sins Are NOT IMPUTED
= not NOT IMPUTED to your account.
- accounting term = mo"lay to one’s charge" or "put on one’s ledger."
As we get honest and receive God’s forgiveness, our sins no longer remain on our ledger.
* Important to realize that if - NOT honest, this blessing of forgiveness, covering, my sins being taken from the ledger book before God, is NOT experienced.
APPLICATION:
- wonderful blessing to have the joy of having your sins fully forgive
-But it All Begins with Honesty. Are you experiencing this blessing?
II. Brings the Blessing of DECREASED DECEIT (v. 2).
*
Blessing of being a person in whose "spirit there is no deceit."
When unwilling to deal with our sin, - spirit of deceit grows in heart.
Look at the manner in which deceit grew in David’s life after his sin with Bathsheba and his desire to cover it up.
•deceived himself: "This is okay. I can do this and get away with it."
• deceived Bathsheba’s husband Uriah, not honest about his sin.
•He deceived the people, pretending he was better than he was.
•He deceived God (or tried to!) by covering his sin.
APPLICATION:
The great blessing of getting honest about our sin
– we deal a continual "death-blow" to the spirit of deception.
– we begin to cultivate the value of INTEGRITY, or soundness throughout our daily lives.
III. Brings the Blessing of REMOVED CONVICTION (vs. 3-5).
* DEEP PAIN THAT RESULTS FROM DISHONESTY
- . Like pain to the body when something is wrong, conviction from God over our sin brings its own type of pain.
What Happens When We Are Guilty but Unwilling to Be Honest with God about Our Sin.
1. Physical Deterioration
* David - body wasted away – vitality drained
- Not all physical suffering caused by God’s hand of conviction
- But no question that unresolved guilt can cause serious physical difficulties .
2. Emotional Deterioration
* David "groaned" all day long.
- heart was burdened, – no joy.
* Guilt’s effect on our emotions is far-reaching and pervasive:
- the guilty person can experience depression, anger, negativity, extreme sensitivity, undue strong reactions, and panic attacks.
* How many times - heard someone who has come clean with God say, "It feels like a huge weight has rolled off of my back"?
- describing the wonderful emotional release that comes from transparency and forgiveness.
3. Spiritual Deterioration
* David said, "Day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me."
- pressure - God puts on human heart when He is rightly convicting us of our sin and seeking to get us to listen, agree, and repent.
Illustration: 3Spurgeon said, "God’s hand is very helpful when it uplifts, but it is awful when it presses down; better a world on the shoulder, like Atlas, than God’s hand on the heart, like David."
APPLICATION:
Are you feeling this physical, emotional, or spiritual pressure? Only through total honesty with God can we know the removed conviction from God.
IV. Brings the Blessing of INTIMATE COUNSEL (vs. 8-9).
God explains how an honest, transparent person can have the joy of unhindered communication and leadership from God.
In verse 8 God says, "I will. . . ." This is the promise of what He will do for the man who will be "real" with Him.
Verse 9
- we shouldn’t be like a horse or mule who must be controlled.
- Without a bit, bridle, or whip, they refuse to obey.
* God prefers that His children respond, not just to outward difficulties, but to His gentle prompting.
Have you ever watched the eyes of a disobedient child? Where do they look? ANYWHERE BUT the eyes of his parent!
* Guilt makes us look everywhere else but at the person to whom we are accountable.
* COST OF DISHONESTY BEFORE GOD IS THE LOSS OF INTIMACY WITH GOD.
Application:
God longs to give His counsel to us - enjoy intimate relationship
- only willing to entrust it to those who are honest and open with Him
So How Do We Go about Getting Honest with God?
V. Developed by FULL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT And CONFESSION (v. 5).
Vs 5
8 Personal Pronouns.
* Only one remedy to dishonesty: full acknowledgement before God.
"‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; and Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin."
This is the transaction of honesty:
I CONFESS = GOD FORGIVES
In 1 John 1:9 God promises forgiveness "IF" we will confess our sins. This "IF" is the operative word and the critical choice.
APPLICATION: Do you want the blessings of full forgiveness, decreased deceit, removed conviction, and intimate counsel? You must begin with transparent honesty.
CONCLUSION
Search me, O God, and know my heart today:
Try me O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.
(Hymn 387)
