This week our guest speaker, Pastor Luis Peralta from Harvest CDMX in Mexico City, earnestly urged BRAVE Church to live out the “A” in BRAVE! He challenged us to be authentic in acknowledging the sin in our lives. This week, we looked at Psalm 51, David’s example of a fully surrendered heart. This is where true freedom lies.
Sermon Transcript
- Good morning BRAVE.
- [Congregation] Good morning.
- How are you today? Amen, happy 4th of July. Amen, it's such a blessing to live in a country where you can have freedom in a sort of way. Amen?
- [Congregation] Amen.
- You know there's so many of us who lives in countries where we don't enjoy all the freedom that you guys enjoy. And just let me give you a little bit of background on ourselves, we are, with my wife, a little confused, talking about identity. We are originally from Guatemala. We were serving in Chicago for many years, and now we are living and serving for the last five years as missionaries in Mexico. So, at the end of the day, don't ask me where I come from 'cause I have no idea. And if you're able to figure it out, please help us. It's a little confused. Well, do you all have your Bibles with you?
- [Congregation] Yes.
- Okay, let's open your Bibles in Psalm 51. You know, this weekend, we all about freedom and 4th of July and that's great, that's great. But at the same time, we need to remember that only if the Son set you free, help me out at the end, started up our how diverse goals.
- [Congregation] You'll be free.
- You will be free indeed. And that's the whole thing. And the only way to really be free in the, to really find freedom and that's when you start facing your sin. And that's what we're going to talk about today. We need to find our real freedom. We need to be free indeed. And the only way to do that is facing our sin, acknowledge your sin.
Do you have Psalm 51? Let's let's all read it together. Verse one, "have mercy on me who oh God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blow out my transgressions. Watch me truly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you might be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forward in equity and in sin did my mother conceived me. Behold you delight in truth in the inward being and you teach me wisdom in your secret heart. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me here joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blow out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God."
Father this morning, I thank you. For your mercy, for your grace, for your love. Thank you father for the way you are with us even the way we are with you. Father, speak to us this morning. Let us hear your voice. Let us confront our sin. Let us face our sin in Jesus' name, Lord, we pray, Amen, Amen.
Psalm 51 is one of my favorite Psalms. Why, why is that? Because it takes me to the main issue in my life. It takes me to the place where the root of all evil, the root of all troubles, the root of all quarrels are. It's our heart is my heart. You know, our hearts are deceitful and desperately seek an evil. That's what the Bible says in Jeremiah 17. That's when my heart is, probably yours is not, correct? It's only me, no. It's all of us. Our hearts are deceitful, our heart are evil. Our hearts are wicked.
And that's what I love the Psalm because this Psalm allow me to face myself, allow me to face my reality in front of the holiness of God. David, King David wrote this Psalm and it's funny, or it's very interesting because he wrote it after he sinned with the Bathsheba. After he killed Uriah, he wrote this Psalm. Yeah, the same David. The Acts 13 says, when God talks about David in Acts 13, God says, "I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, a man who will do all my will." So the same David. There was a time, a dark time in David's life. And I don't know you, but I'm so glad that the Bible doesn't hide anything. It tells the true the way it is.
There's a lot that we need to learn and start practicing ourselves. David was confronted with the reality of his sin and the holiness of God. David started this Psalm asking God's mercy. Do you see it, verse one the first part? David says, "have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love." Have mercy of me. Please God, don't give me what I deserve. I deserve hell. I deserve death, but God, please have mercy on me. Don't give me that. Don't give me what I deserve. And then continues in the second part of verse one, "according to your abundant mercy, blow out my transgression." Please God, do that in my life, do that in my heart. And verse two says, "wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
Even though David was sinned, he never lose sight, that he was a son of God. And sometimes he make us forget that. And I don't know about you, but in my case, that's praise God because my salvation, my relationship with him doesn't depend on anything that I can do or anything that I don't do. That depends only in Christ alone, but at the same time, sometimes I may turn my face away from my own sin. David knew that his Father can forgive him, but also can clean him and restore him. But first David plead to the character of God, to his mercy, to his love, to his power, to save. David couldn't justify his sin. But instead of studying, used to fighting his sin or it's using excuses for his sin. He just acknowledged his sin.
And that's something that we need to do in these days. It's about time that we, as a church, to start acknowledging our sin. Why is that? Because you were honest. Every time that we sin, every time that we fail, that's what we do. We just start blaming somebody else. All about the God in front of me. All about but my wife all about, and you know, that's not new.
If we go back to Genesis three. Remember that part? Adam, where are you? I'm hiding Lord, why? Why? The woman that you gave me Lord. And I'm sure a hundred percent that if God will ask Eve, she will say the man that you gave me, Lord. That's our nature. We do that, instead of acknowledging our sin and taking responsibility for our acts, we start blaming some other people. God, you didn't want me to sin. Why you didn't stop me? Have you said that? I know you don't. That happens only in Mexico. God, I know that you want, you don't want this relationship with this guy with this girl, but if you don't want me in that relationship, why don't you take this person away for me? Excuses, excuses, and excuses.
What is your excuse? When you sin, where is you're finger pointing? To yourself or to somebody else? David was confronted. And after he was confronted by the Prophet Nathan in Second Samuel chapter 12. This is what David said to Nathan, "I have sin against the Lord." I have sinned against the Lord, but take a note of this, many scholars believe that this confrontation happens about a year or so after his sin, after he committed adultery, after he killed Uriah. So about a year or so after. And I believe like David, like many of us, at least like me, he probably spent all that time justifying his sin. Oh God, you know that she's beautiful. And you put her right in front of me and you built me this way. You create me this way. You wire me this way.
Why I think of David like that, because I'm like that. You probably are the same way. Instead of coming clean with God, I'm assuming that he started justifying his sin for over a year. Hmm, spend all that time probably rationalizing his sin, justifying his sin. And if you're asking, what are you trying to tell me Luis? That's a good question. That's a good question. What I mean is many of us will live our lives thinking, or falsely believing that the consequences of our sin, they're never going to catch up with us. But let me tell you church, let me tell you, time and truth walk hand by hand. They work together and sooner or later, the consequences of your sin will come forward. And I know this is not something easy to hear. But we as a church of Christ, we need to hear that, we need to stop making excuses.
We need to start acknowledging our sin. Why is that important? Because the people outside this building, they need to see us, us the church of Christ. We may have a nice and beautiful building, we may have a nice and beautiful sign outside, but what really is going to attract people to Christ is your life, is my life.
So it's about time. to start, stopping our excuses for our sins. David says in Psalm 42, "for when I kept silent, silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me and my strength was right up as the heat of summer." Well, he remained silent when he'd be not come clean with God about his sin. The spirit of God, his hand was upon him. If you spend some many sleepless nights, maybe is the hand of the Lord telling you, wake up, wake up, acknowledge your sin, acknowledge your sin.
And believe me church, the consequences of our sin, they're going to catch up with us. Second Samuel chapter 12 is a description of David consequences. And if you know the life of David, if you have read your Bible, I'm not going to get into that. But if you know the life of David, the life of his family, you will see all this consequences happening in his life. Second Samuel 12, verse 10. He says, "the sword shall never depart from your house." There was violence in the house of David? Yes there was. Verse 11 of Second Samuel 12. "Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house." Consequences of his sins. And we see all that happen. Verse 11 continues saying, "and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun." Hmm, in verse 12. Put the top on it. You did it secretly, hmm, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.
I'm talking to the church right now. Whatever it is, whatever sin that you're doing secretly, believe me, it's better for you, it's better for us, it's better for me to come clean with the Lord now, why? Because whatever it is that we're doing in secret, he's going to bring it to the front. And that's going to be bad. That's going to be bad church.
But David says in verse five, it's amazing. "Behold, I was brought forward in inequity and in sin did my mother conceive me." Sin is in us since the day we're born. Because to one man come sin and with sin, death. But praise God for Jesus, praise God for him. Because through him, we can find salvation, we can find forgiveness. We can find that "cleanseness" that we need.
I've been in ministry for over 30 years family. And I have talked with many people about their sin, about their wrong choices. And you know, they're like me. They're like me, the first answer or the first reaction that I hear, 'cause that's what I do, I start blaming somebody else. I start blaming somebody else. I start blaming the environment where I grew up. I started blaming the family they gave me. I started blaming the church. All these, you don't know the church where I'm at. It's full of hypocrites. And the only answer that I have is welcome to my club, 'cause I'm one of them.
How are we doing church? Are we coming forward with our sin? Are we acknowledging our sin? Do you want to find forgiveness, do you really want to find freedom of the power of sin? It's not that the we're not gonna sing anymore. But until the moment that we acknowledge our sin, that sin has a grip on us and it's not letting us go and we don't have the power to remove it. Christ does. And that's why it's so important that we need to acknowledge our sin. Stop blaming someone else, church. Stop blaming somebody else.
You and only you are responsible for your sin. I'm responsible for my sin, not even the devil. You hear that? Oh, the devil make me do it, really? For devil is like crying out. I'm the one who blame for everything. It's about time that we, as a church, take responsibility for our own sin. We need to acknowledge our sin church. But also we need to acknowledge that sin is betrayal. betrayal against God, verse four, the second part of verse four, it says, "against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." David not only acknowledged his sin, but he also understand that his sin was betrayal towards God. He was betraying God. The adultery with Bathsheba, the killing of Uriah. He has sinned against God. He has betrayed God.
And it's funny how, crazy how these days we have, there's so many groups in this society today, like LGBTQ, ABCD, you know your ABCs, you better learn it because those letters keep expanding and expanding and expanding. The pro-abortion groups. And a group that is really making me sick the worst is the group named NAMBLA, North American Men Boy Love Association. Have you heard of them? That really want to make me throw out? They all have the mentality that it's my body. I can do whatever I want. I have the right to love whoever I want. I have the right to find happiness. I have the right to have the right. And even though our government has give them a voice. Even our government is trying to make that all that legal.
Sin is sin. There's no other way to put it. Betrayal is betrayal. And it's about time that we as a church start patting ourselves on the back. And we start taking responsibility of our sin. Why I'm I saying that? Because when we do nothing, when we keep quiet, we're part of it. We need to acknowledge our sin. "Against you, you only have I sin and done what is evil in your sight." In your sight.
Our bodies, your body is not your own. Our bodies are not our own. We were created with a purpose. We were given a new identity. Everything was new or what is always as past. We don't belong to ourselves. We belong to him. And it's something that I understand as a church, that my sin is betrayal against God. Nothing's going to change, why? Because we're going to keep justifying our sin. And you can tell me, Luis, but my sin doesn't hurt anybody. I'm not like David, really?
Hey guys, be honest at church, but keep the answer to yourself. Have you ever seen a woman and then desire her in your eyes and your heart? That's adultery. Sisters, have you done the same? That's adultery, but we're not like David. The Bible teaches that if we don't love our brother and our sister, that's murder, but we're not like David, right? God have mercy on us. God have mercy on us, hmm.
Let me tell you this. There is no different levels of betrayal. Betrayal is betrayal. And I don't know if you have experienced somebody that you trust the most, stab you in the back. I have, and that's so painful. And when I think about that, I think how many times I have stabbed Christ in the back, with the way I believe, with the way I try to hide my sin and the way I have to acknowledge or ignore my betrayal to him.
Do you want to find forgiveness church? I'm not talking about salvation to the church 'cause we are saved by grace. But the consequences of our sin are going to catch up with us sooner or later. But at the same time, if you're not part of the church and I'm not talking about BRAVE Church as an institution. If you're not part of the body of Christ, let me tell you, you're in serious trouble because the consequences of your sin are going to be worst.
You're going to spend the whole eternity in hell if you don't repent and come forward and ask Christ for forgiveness. You're not here because you don't have anything else to do. You're not here because you want to do a check in your checklist so you can go out and have fun and barbecue after. You're here, because God brought you with the reason, he wants you to hear. If you hear his voice, don't harden your heart, come forward, repent of your sin.
And if you are already saved, it's even more important. Acknowledge your sin, acknowledge your betrayal toward God and ask him for forgiveness. You need to acknowledge his justice. Go with me to the second part of verse four. "So that you may be justified in your words, I'm blameless in your judgment." David understood and saw the consequences of his sin.
David did, what about us? The Gospel of Luke chapter 23. He gives us a sin, a very unique sin, when Christ was hanging on the cross, one thief on one side, another one in the other side. A person told me that the thief on one side was good and the other one was bad. I believe both were bad. But the thing is, one of those, he was like, really Jesus, if you are who you say you are, why don't you go down to the cross and save yourself and save us? Do something about it. And the other guy is like, are you kidding me? This guy is blameless. He has no fault in him. And he's sharing the same condemnation like us. We are rightfully doing so. This is the result of our deeds.
So how do we react when we face his justice? And I know we have been justified by faith in Christ alone, but at the same time, we need to acknowledge his justice and the consequences of your sin, the consequences of my sin, we need to face those. And we need to learn from those. How do we react? How do you react when you're reaping the fruit of our sin or the fruit of your sin?
Many times, if you're like me, we get angry with God. God I thought that you love me and I can see his face like, yeah, I do love you but remember that? I will forgive you for that, but you need to learn. You need to learn. Many times when we start reaping the consequences of our sin, what we do is we'll walk away from his mercy. David understood that. David understood that he came forward and he's like, God, have mercy on me. I know that I have sinned against you and you only. So that you may be justified in your words, I'm blameless in your judgment, hmm.
Verse six, "show us and reveal us the heart of God. Behold, you the light and truth in the inward being and you teach me wisdom and the secret heart." David realized immense, or the huge, the big difference between separation, between God's desire, God's heart and our wants and our desires. We live in a time and we live in a society that we always looking for things that make us happy, things that make us feel comfortable. And we forgot about Christ. And Church, let me tell you this, it's not about you. And if you want to hate me for that, hate me for that. But let me tell you, it's not about you.
God loves you and he wants to use you. But at the end, it's not about you. It's all about his justice, it's all about his wants, it's about his desires, about his heart. And many times the sin in our life take us away from that. He delights in true and the inward being, why? Because he wants to teach me wisdom and the secret heart. He wants my eyes to be on him. The Apostle Paul says, for me to live is Christ, right? And to die is?
- [Congregation] Gain.
- Gain, and many times we use that part, thinking that when we depart from this world, but the time to die is now. It's about time for us as a church to die to ourselves. It's about time that we start really living for Christ. The more we die to ourselves, the more we die to our ego, the more we die to our desires, the more we died to our flesh. It's a gain for us, why? Because Christ lives in us.
Church listen, don't be deceived, please don't be deceived. Everything, everything that we sow, we will reap. God cannot be mocked. And talking to the church in a 4th of July, again, let's go and celebrate. But I don't know if you realize time goes by so fast. And before you know it, your life is going to be over. And if you're wasting your time, if you're wasting your life, just enjoying the freedom that this world may give us. It's about time to come back to Christ. Run to the cross, run to the cross.
Our sin, your sin is your responsibility, is my responsibility. It's about time to stop excusing and justifying ourselves. Your sin is betrayal to God. Your sin, my sin is betrayal to God. There's a few questions that you need to ask yourself. Are you talking to me God? Are talking to me God? Have you bring this guy with an accent to talk to me today Lord? Am I justifying my sin? Am I blaming others for my sin? And the last one questions that you need to ask yourself today is, Am I betraying you God? Am I stabbing you in the back? You the one who gave everything? If you lie for me?
And church, if you answered yes to any of these questions, hmm, the next thing to do is seek to be restored, seek to be restored. That's the beauty of God. He show us our sin when we face ourselves with the truth of God, he show us our sin, but he doesn't want to just leave us there. He wanna restore our lives, he wanna restore your life. This message, this Psalm is written for the church, it's written for myself. it's written for you. He wants to restore you. Seek to be restored. Verse seven, "purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean." Hmm, purge me with hyssop. David understood his position. He saw himself as a leper. Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean, but he keeps going forward. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
And that should be a prayer today Church. I don't know you. I don't know what happened this morning and your way over to church. I don't know what happened yesterday or the day before. And that doesn't really matter. What matters is that God knows you. God knows your ins and outs. And I believe God is talking to the church today. Why I say that? Because I know he's talking to myself. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
In verse eight, can you see David pleading? Crying out to God here? "Let me hear joy and gladness." Cleanse me, wash me, and the result of that, let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Take anxiety away. There's a battle in us. There's a battle in us. The spirit of God who dwell in us is fighting against the desire of our hearts. We're seeing in a few minutes ago that he will turn the bones into what? Into armies. He has the power to change. He has the power to give life. He has the power to restore and this power, he's available for you. It's available for us.
And if you have repented from your sin, having come to the cross, do it quickly. Tomorrow could be too late. Later this afternoon could be too late. Verse nine, "hide your face from my sin and blow out all my iniquities." Please God, you know my flaws, you know my weakness. You know my sin, even though you love me. Please turn your face away from them. Stop looking at them anymore. Hide your face from my sin, blow out all my iniquities.
In verse 10. That's the cry out to my heart today. Creating me a clean heart. My heart is evil. My heart is wicked. My heart is bad. It's about time church that we start offloading ourselves and coming back to Christ. It's about time that we start acknowledging our sin. Acknowledging that our sin is betrayal towards God. Stop complaining about the right judgment of God in our lives.
Let's seek to be restored. Renew a right spirit within me. How did you tire of trying to hide your sin? Believe me, that's exhausting. When I kept silent, my bones dry out. Trying to hide your sin. Trying to hide that thing that you do secretly. Is wearing you out. It's about time, come clean.
Come clean before God. Right where you are. Let's do this. Let's go on your feet and open your Bible. And let's read together those last four verses from verse seven to verse 10. And let us make that our prayer today. And I don't know what version do you have, but let's do this. I saw many people through this season of COVID, crying out loud to God for a miracle in one of their relatives when they're sick and intubated. How would you cry out to God? I just encourage you. Let's read this part, make that your prayer today, but do it out loud. You ready? Let's go to verse seven. Let's do it together. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me...
- Father this morning Lord, we're here before you, we know that you know us all, we know that there's nothing hidden from you Lord. Lord we want to take the words of David and make those our own words. Father, we need you Lord, more than ever before. We need you to be clean. We need you, to wash us. God, hear our voices today. You know, each one of us, have mercy on us. Oh God have mercy. Please Lord, hide your face from our sins. Blow out all of our inequities Lord. Father, please create in us a clean heart, more than never before this world needs to see you and the only way that they're going to see you is through us Lord, please. And for us to be able to represent you outside this world is to have a clean heart. Give us Lord a clean heart please. And renew the right spirit in us Lord. Help us, there's nothing we can do in our own, even to the point of coming before you and confessing and acknowledging our sin and our betrayal and your justice and seeking, being restored. We need you to do that Lord. Confront myself with my sin. Help me to run back to you Lord. In Jesus name Father, Amen.