Lesson 1 - Guilt

First of all, let me thank you for coming tonight. I'm so grateful that you're here and I am very excited about what we're going to study because in the next four sessions, counting this one, in the next three sessions, we're going to be dealing with your emotions, how to get a handle on your emotions, how to deal with how you feel. And we're going to talk tonight about guilt. And we're going to be studying, and you can be finding, if you will, Psalm 38. I don't know of a better delineation in the Bible or out of the Bible that deals with guilt. So we're going to show you what the Bible has to say about dealing with guilt. I read something. It was so staggering. I don't really believe the statistic, but here's what it said. This man said, and he was a psychiatrist, he said that almost 100% of people who are in mental institutions are there because they don't know how to handle guilt. Now, that sounds like an overstatement to me, but the fact that a man would even say that tells us that there are many people in this land, many of them who call themselves Christians, who are haunted by the ghost of guilt. Now, if you were to ask, if you were to ask the average person, what is guilt? They'd give you the wrong answer. The average person would say, guilt is the feeling that you get when you've done something wrong. Isn't that what they say? That's, you know, but that's not guilt. That is a guilty feeling. If you put your hand on a stove and you get a hot stove, there's going to be a pain that's going to run up your arm and go to your brain and your brain's going to say, Hey, stupid, move it. And, and you will move it. It'll happen just like that. You put your hand on a hot stove. Now there'll be a blister there if the stove was hot enough. Now, uh, there will be a burn. The burn and the burn

feeling are two different things. Guilt is not the feeling. It is the burn. And so many people are trying to deal only with the feeling and they're not really dealing with the burn. And that's what so much psychiatry is about today and so much psychology. They're trying to tell you how to deaden the pain of the burn. But the Bible deals with the guilt itself. And when you deal with the guilt, then the pain is gone. But it is so sad to kill the pain without dealing with the burn. So that's what we're talking about. Uh, the guilt is being wrongly related to God. It is the repercussion of our sin being separated from almighty God. That is the condition. Now we're going to be looking here in Psalm 38. Psalm 38 is a Psalm written by a man, a great man. I love him. His name was David, man after God's own heart. And, uh, David committed a terrible, horrible sin. Now you say, well, he was only human. He was grievously wicked. And yet here's a strange thing. David is called in the Bible, a man after God's own heart. That ought to be a warning to all of us that, uh, you know, many of us, uh, can get into trouble even though we love God. If we take our eyes off the Lord. Now, what I'm going to teach you tonight, I wish everybody in the world knew. I wish every psychiatrist knew it. Every psychologist knew it. They don't know it. I was, a lady said to me one time, can you speak with me after the service? I, she called me on the phone. She said, I, can you speak with me tonight, Sunday night after the service? I'm in a terrible condition. I need help. I'm so distraught. And she said, my husband is Jewish and he is a psychiatrist, but he's not able to help me. I said, well, she said it, please, it's an emergency. I said, okay, I will see you after the service on one condition. You bring your husband with you. And so, uh,

she came and they, I went to the study. The husband was there and he's, he's Jewish and he's also a psychiatrist. I'm a Baptist preacher. You can imagine what the situation is like. All right. So I said to him, I said, doctor, would you go over there and sit down, please? Let me talk to your wife. And so I just wanted him to monitor what was happening. Her problem was guilt. Her answer was grace. Her answer was Jesus. And I talked to her about, and how God can forgive and cleanse and restore. It was like a light came on in her soul and right there, she received in just a few moments, the miracle of God's grace and she was just delivered. So we had prayer with her. I'm knowing over here is sitting this man. He's not a professing Christian, he's Jewish. He's a psychiatrist and so I'm just putting him to the side, paying no attention to him but aware that he's there the whole time. After I prayed with his wife, I turned to him and I said, Now doctor, you don't know whether what I said is true or not, do you? He said, No. He said, I don't even know whether there's a God or not. I said, Well, that's okay. We'll deal with that in a moment. But I said, I want to ask you a question, doctor. You've been a psychiatrist and dealt with a lot of people. If what I told your wife tonight is true, would that not be a wonderful, wonderful tool for you to use to help people?

Oh, he said, If that's true, he said, I've never heard anything just like that. That would be wonderful. I said, Well, would you like to know whether it's true or not? He said, Well, I just, I don't know. I said, Well, that's all right. You're a doubter. Are you an honest doubter or a dishonest doubter? He said, What's the difference? I said, Well, an honest doubter doesn't know but he wants to know. A dishonest doubter doesn't know because he doesn't want to know. He can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. I said, Would you like to know? He said, There's no way to know. I said, Yes, there is a way to know. I said, Let me read you a promise from the Word of God. From John 7, 17, Jesus said, My doctrine, my teaching is not mine but His who sent me. And then Jesus said, If any man will do his will, he will know the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. And he said, What does that mean? I said, Doctor, would you be willing to sign a statement like this? God, I don't know whether you exist or not. I don't know whether the Bible is your Word or not. I don't know whether Jesus Christ is your Son or not but I want to know.

Because I want to know, I'll make an honest investigation and because it is an honest investigation, I will follow the results of that investigation wherever they lead me regardless of the cost. I said, You're a psychiatrist and you're Jewish. Suppose you believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God. What would happen? What would your other psychiatrists say? He said, They'd laugh at me. They would refuse to recommend me. I said, What would your family say? He said, They'd disown me. Now I said, I want to ask you a question. If you were convinced that it's true, in spite of the scorn, would you follow the truth regardless of the cost? I said, An honest doubter would. If you really want to know regardless of the cost, would you do it? He said, Yes. I said, Wonderful. I said, Now there's a book of John that's written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and believing you might have life through His name. I said, I'm not asking you to believe right now. I'm asking you to take that book and read that book and ask God, God, is this true? If you're there, God, is this true? Speak to my heart.

Convince me and if you convince me, if you speak to my heart, my heart is open. I've already surrendered if you convince me. And then I gave him some other books that deal with Bible prophecy, the Old Testament, showing Jesus Christ in the New Testament. He went away. One night, about 3 weeks later after reading that material, he told his wife. He said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He said, I believe that He is the Savior, the Messiah. He got down out of bed, got on his knees and prayed a prayer like this. Now I know because I heard it from both the husband and the wife together. God, I believe You exist. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins. I repent of my sin. I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It sounded like it came out of a textbook. I mean, the prayer he prayed was one I could write as a pastor and he was saved. That was 25 years ago. That man is still a member of this church right here tonight as a professing Christian and a practicing psychiatrist, loving the Lord Jesus Christ and he is using the tool that I'm talking about tonight. That is grace to help people to deal with guilt. What a wonderful tool.

I would that everybody could understand what we're talking about tonight. Now, first of all, I want you to see what I'm going to call the tragedy of sin. In the life of a saint look in Psalm 38 verses 1 and 2 it's called a psalm of David now remember David was the one that committed adultery and then manslaughter to try a Manslaughter the best the murder of the worst to try to cover it and notice What he says here a psalm of David to bring remembrance. Oh Lord Rebuke me not in thy wrath Neither chastened me in thy hot displeasure For thine arrows stick fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore Now this is what David is saying about his sin. First thing about his sin is this that it displeased his God do you see that in this verse thy hot? Displeasure and how did David know that God was displeased? Well, first of all, there were Words of wrath he speaks of his Rebuke, let me tell you something if you're a child of God and you sin God will rebuke you Now if God doesn't rebuke you you just need to get saved God is going to rebuke you. That's what this verse says. He speaks right here about God's Rebuke there were words of rebuke and then also there were arrows of conviction look in verse 2 Thine arrows stick fast in me God's conviction was like an arrow going right to his heart and Anybody who's a child of God's been shot by that arrow. I mean if you know the God that I know He's going to speak to you. He's going to rebuke you He's gonna pull back his bow of conviction and he's going to let it go and it's going to stick right in your heart Your heart will be pierced with pain because you're a child of God and then there's also going to be a hand of pressure Notice in verse 2 again, thy hand presseth me sore Sometimes people get the idea, you know, if we sin God's just going to cast us off God doesn't cast you off He squeezes you all the tighter when you are a sinner and yet a child of God God doesn't let you go

God puts the pressure on You and I think of Guilt, this is probably the costliest price that we pay is just to have God speak to us in rebuke Put that arrow in our heart and squeeze us until we we know that we have displeased God now Here's the second thing Remember the first one it displeased his God number two. It Dissipated his strength. I'm going to show you now six ways Six ways his strength was dissipated because of his guilt look in chapter 38 verse 3 He says there's no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin? Underscore no rest in my bones. Here's the first thing is sin did to dissipate his strength. It wearied him It wearied him now. We've heard the statement haven't we there's no rest for the wicked Well, I'm telling you that is true and if you get the sin out of your life, it'll do a whole lot better than a sleeping pill Here David is weary. There are a lot of people who are wasting so much emotional energy Because they're lugging around a load of guilt They are sin will wear you not only did it weary him it Weighted him look in verse 4 for mine iniquities have gone over my head as a Heavy burden they are too heavy for me When you have guilt is like you're carrying around a hundred pound weight I Let a man to Christ in Mexico one time. We were in a little Volkswagen He was a I'd hired him to drive me around and I led him to Christ He said mister it feels like I just sat down a sack full of stones When he went when that burden was gone What happened to David his sin wearied him his sin? Weighted him and his sin wounded him look in verse 5 my wounds stink Now my wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness now He's not talking here about

Physical wounds. He's talking about the gangrene of the soul. Remember he'd been shot with an arrow Ever had shot him in the heart and he said now it's putrefying my wounds stink Sorrow is a clean wound. It will heal Guilt is a dirty wound it festers and festers and festers until it is healed and then next Not only did his sin weigh him and wound him, it worried him. Look in Psalm 38 and verse 6. I am troubled. I am bowed down greatly. I go mourning all the day long. I'm going to tell you something, folks. When you get saved, God doesn't fix you up where you can't sin anymore. I'll tell you what He does do. He fixes you up where you can't sin and enjoy it anymore. I'll guarantee you. He said, look, I'm troubled, I've had it. The most miserable man on earth, listen to me. The most miserable man on earth is not an unsaved man or woman. He's a saved man out of fellowship with God. More miserable than any child of the devil is a child of God out of fellowship with God. And so his sin worried him and then his sin wasted him. Look in verse 7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease and there's no soundness in my flesh. This time, he's not talking in a metaphor. This time, he is speaking truth. He had a sexually transmitted disease.

He speaks up here. My loins are filled with a loathsome disease. You know, he sold his wild oats and now he's reaping his wild oats. We have a generation today with STDs, sexually transmitted diseases and they're a terrible thing. You know, people talk today about safe sex. Sex is not supposed to be dangerous. It's supposed to be enjoyable and pleasurable and safe but here was a man who wanted to play outside the bounds. If you sold your wild oats, then don't expect crop right here. Here's David, now he's a king but he said, now my loins are filled with a disgusting disease. And then next, his sin weakened him. Look in verse 38. I am feeble and sore broken. Good night. Here's a king, the mighty warrior king. Now he is broken in body, broken in spirit and he says, I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. When he says he roars, that means he's groaning. Oh, all day long. Here is David who had everything that heart could desire and he's miserable because of the guilt. Now all of this, I'm saying that his sin displeased his God and his sin weakened him physically and emotionally. Here's something else sin did. It deadened his soul. It deadened his soul.

Look if you will in verses 9 and 10. Lord, all my desires before Thee and my groaning is not hid from Thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me. As for the light of mine eyes, also it is gone from me. He has become spiritually blind. The light of my eyes is gone from me. Rather than walking in the sunlight of God's love, here's a man stumbling around in the dark. The guilty man is blind to blessing. But not only is he spiritually blind, he's spiritually deaf. Look in verses 13 and 14. But I as a deaf man heard not. And I was as a dumb man that opened not his mouth. Now here he is, a man that has enemies. These enemies want to kill him and yet he is blind to blessing, he's deaf to danger, he's so vulnerable to Satan and all that Satan wants to do to him. Now look, he's spiritually blind, he is spiritually deaf and he's spiritually dumb. Look if you will in verse 13. But I as a deaf man heard not and I was as a dumb man that opened not his mouth. Sin had shut his mouth. No more praise, no more song, no more testimony. Praise is dried up, testimony has withered and the sweet singer of Israel has lost his song. But not only has it deadened his soul, look, it has distanced his friends.

Look in verse 11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore and my kinsmen stand afar off. The word sore, there's a word that was used to describe a leper. He said, the people that I love are treating me like I had leprosy. They don't want to be around me. My family, my friends, the people I love, they just separate when they see me coming. Now these are people that they used to have sweet fellowship with. He's treated like a leper. Now a wounded conscience will make a person hard to live with. I've been around a lot of people. I've preached for a long time. I want to tell you something that I found out. The most ornery, censorious, cantankerous, vituperative, hard to get along with individual is a child of God out of fellowship with God. Give me a good old-fashioned red-blooded All-American Unsafe Center rather than a person out of fellowship with God. And they say, here he comes, get away. You know, he had a bitter old sweet, a bitter spirit rather than a sweet spirit. He had a judgmental spirit. It distanced his friends. I'll tell you what else it did.

It delighted his enemies. Look in verse 12. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, they imagine deceits all the day long. They were glad to see him down. The devil delights when a child of God stumbles and notice his prayer there in verse 16. For I said, hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me when my foot slippeth. They magnify themselves against me. The devil and his crowd rejoices when a child of God sins, when it fails. Every now and then, you hear of someone, they call a tele-evangelist or something like that, gets into some terrible sin. Boy, headlines. You can let a congressman do it. You can let a movie star do it but you let a man of God do it, ta-ta-ta. We've got him, there he is. They rejoice when a child of God falls. God forbid that any of us should so sin as to cause the devil and his crowd to rejoice and to give the enemies of God the occasion of blaspheme. Well, all of this is the tragedy of guilt in the life of a child of God. Now, let's talk, let's turn around from the tragedy and let's talk about the remedy. Let's get to the good place, the bad part we've already done.

There are four wonderful steps. I want you to remember them. First of all, what I want to call the sinner's confidence. Have you got that? Here's your confidence that God loves you and He is ready to forgive and to cleanse. Look in verse 15. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope thou wilt hear, O Lord my God, not will you but Lord you will. God, you are my hope. The only answer, are you hearing me? The only answer for guilt is God. He is our only hope and thank God, we always have hope if we want it. There's nothing, nothing, no nothing, nothing, nothing you can do to make God stop loving you. Don't ever tell a child, if you do that, God won't love you anymore because that's a lie. God committed His love toward us and while we were sinners, Christ died for us. And so first of all, there must be this confidence but that's not all. The sinner's confidence, secondly, the sinner's contrition, contrition, that means sorrow. Look in verses 17 and 18. For I am ready to halt. My sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin. When He said, I'm ready to halt, He said,

I'm at the verge of collapse. I'm at the end of my rope. There's nothing else I can do. God, here is my sin. God, I am sorry. Now friend, when we come to this place, not only of confidence that He loves us but contrition, to be broken because of our sin. David for a long time was trying to cover it up but he's not trying to cover it up now. There's one thing that God will never accept for sin and that is an alibi or an excuse. Jesus did not die for alibis. He died for sin. All right, now watch it. The sinner's confidence, Lord, my hope is in you. The sinner's contrition, I'm sorry for my sin. Now here's the sinner's confession. Look at it. It is clear. Look in verse 18. For I will declare mine iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin. I'll declare it. Openly and publicly, He confesses His sin and the Bible says in 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from who knows that next word? All, A-double-A.

Isn't that a big word? Don't ever think this is the big one. God will never forgive me. He is faithful and just to forgive us from all iniquity. I mean, I don't think any of you have done what David did and God forgave him. Oh, to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. That's the sinner's confession. We confess our sin and He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and then we come to the sinner's cleansing. I love it that when we're forgiven, we're restored totally, perfectly. Psalm 38, verses 21-22, "'Forsake me not, O Lord, O my God. Me not, far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation." That is so wonderful. This man sinned egregiously, terribly but he says, God, You're going to forgive me because that's the kind of God You are. You are my Savior, You are my salvation. I refuse to be haunted by the ghost of guilt. Now if there were ever a chapter in the Bible that shows the fearful, terrible, horrible price of sin, it's this one. But don't we serve a great God who is willing to forgive and willing to restore and give us a fresh start. Go to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. You say, well, if it's that easy to be forgiven, then it makes no difference if we sin.

Oh, no. You pull the nail out, the nail hole still remains. I think that David would have given a thousand worlds like this one to go back inside, never would have let that happen but he did. But it's still never too late if we come to our Lord. And remember, guilt is not the pain, it's the blister and only God can deal with that. The medicine can kill the pain. The psychiatrists will try to help you to feel good about yourself but we don't want to feel good until the blister is dealt with and that is by the grace of God. Amen? Praise God. Thank you. ♪♪