Caleb Walker

Resources: Lesson Manuscript, PowerPoint, and Devotional

Franklin Heights Church Connect Groups: https://franklinheights.org/connect/groups/

PowerPoint (free) Download Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/djhmfxpyk8ntl3eyps8be/God-s-Conviction.pptx?rlkey=3a2lz2u83a7iixcn0i8jkf6yf&st=6vxl0k35&dl=0

Review: Last week, we saw how we are to worship God because of His covenant faithfulness fulfilled in Jesus. 

Title: God’s Conviction

Text: Psalm 38:1-8, 18-22

Key Verse: Psalm 38:21-22, “Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! ²² Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”

Theme: Believers should repent and confess their sins to God knowing that he will not abandon them.

Introduction: When we have to ask someone for forgiveness for a wrong, it’s painful and humbling, isn’t it? But that’s an important part of the Christian life for us to maintain fellowship with God and others. I John 1:5-10 we read, “⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” *Knowing God forgives us impacts us be willing and ready to forgive others who’ve wronged us, too.*

1. Conviction (Psalm 38:1-4)

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, [Now believers don’t always suffer as a result of sin, but here a direct connection is being made. David was experiencing the consequences for his sin.]

    …nor discipline me in your wrath!

2 For your arrows have sunk into me, [The description of conviction are like arrows piercing through his soul. But this is a good thing. When God convicts us of something in our lives, it’s a blessing! God doesn’t want to leave us alone to sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of our self-imposed error. He points it out; even painfully, but always lovingly.]

    …and your hand has come down on me.

3 There is no soundness [NIV, “no health”] in my flesh

    because of your indignation; [That term “soundness can mean safety or peace, and depicts the physical malady that sin imposes, physical weakness. Again, not all physical maladies are a result of sin; but here in this context, it is.]

…there is no health in my bones [The repetition of the physical effects on David’s health as a result of sin emphasizes the impact of it.]

    because of my sin.

4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; [The CSB puts this, “have flooded over my head.” It’s overwhelming him. It’s too much. He’s drowning in the mess he’s made.]

    …like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. [He can’t handle it, so he’s going to the One who can. Isn’t it a blessing that the believer can run back to Jesus at any time? Maybe you’re reading or watching the lesson, and it’s time to run back to God. He’s ready to welcome you with open arms, just like the Father welcomed home his prodigal son and would have welcomed home His older, prideful son, whose heart was far from him, even though he was physically present with him, if only he would have humbled himself in Luke 15.]

2. Anguish (vv. 5-8)

5 My wounds stink and fester [He was depicting his sin as a decaying wound that created a stench. Sin creates a stench, doesn’t it? it’s not isolated to ourselves. I went for a remembrance run with some church members last night for a beloved brother in Christ who went home to be with the Lord last year. It was tremendous to see so many of his connect group members and other connect group leaders come out for that special time of remembrance. When I made it home and had our evening Bible story time with my four and two-year-old, my four-year-old sat up in her bed and scrunched her nose and said with a smirk, “Daddy, you stink.” I told her I sure did and that Daddy needed a shower. You know what, sin stinks. And we need a spiritual shower, don’t we?

The reason for this foul festering smell is then given in verse 6b,

    “…because of my foolishness,

6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

    all the day I go about mourning.

7 For my sides are filled with burning,

    and there is no soundness in my flesh.

8 I am feeble [The KJV, NIV, and ESV render this feeble,” and the CSB renders it “faint,” and can be rendered in the Hebrew, “numb.” The sin robbed him of vitality and liveliness.]

…and crushed;

    I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

In my personal Bible study time, there is an abbreviation I like to use, “Conseq.” For “Consequences,” and this little marking helps remind me that sin has consequences, and these warnings serve as a deterrent and a blessing to guard our hearts from thinking sin can be gotten away with. It can’t! Numbers 32:23b, “…be sure your sin will find you out.” Case in point, you’ve probably seen the alleged affair of the CEO of that big company and his HR manager who were found-out through the Coldplay concert jumbotron. It’s blown up on the news and such. And it’s just really sad. There’s sadness in the Christian life; isn’t there? We can’t insulate ourselves from sadness, but we can run to the Savior and lift up our prayers, and lean on Jesus and our brothers and sisters in Christ in the sadness, amen! Their families certainly need our prayers and the employees of that company, as well. I was an Air Force Chaplain Candidate 2Lt and a Workplace chaplain combined 7-8 years, thereabouts, and I tell you, this causes a lot of pain for the family, loved ones, and the employees of that company. We need to pray that each party and those impacted would find hope and healing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s what this Psalm is talking about. The pain of sin and its compromise.

Transition: Conviction is a result of consequences that are there to lovingly lead us to point #3:

3. Confession (vv. 18-22)

18 I confess my iniquity; [In this statement, David owns up to, is anxious over, and denounces his sin.]

    I am sorry for my sin.

19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

20 Those who render me evil for good [David’s sin was seized as an opportunity by his enemies to come against him even harder. Now these enemies were God’s enemies as well. The sooner sin is confessed the quicker the enemies of God are quelled from hurling their accusations and advancing in their evil purposes against God’s kingdom.]

    accuse me because I follow after good.

21 Do not forsake me, O Lord!

    O my God, be not far from me! [Sin’s separation was now replaced with renewed fellowship between David and God, and God’s nearness and presence could be experienced once again.

22 Make haste to help me,

    O Lord, my salvation!

Gospel: Praise the Lord that he hears the confession of those who have given their lives to him in salvation. For those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection life, there needs to be a sense of urgency that no sin goes unconfessed and no sin be unreplaced with words, thoughts, and deeds that honor and bring glory to God as God’s original and good design is recovered and pursued.

Doctrine: Our key doctrine for this week is God’s Purpose of Grace.

     Lifeway says, “Those whom God has accepted in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.”

 (Psalms Quick Source, page 42).

John 5:24, “²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Discussion Questions:

• Discuss why and how God sometimes uses difficult situations to get our attention and to remind us of His faithfulness. Let’s be challenged to examine our own lives and confess any sin to God that the Holy Spirit convicts us of.
• How are you experiencing the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and how will you respond?

Big Takeaway(s):

• The Holy Spirit points out where need to confess sin and recognize it and turn from it.
• We can expect conviction of sin to create a range of emotions including guilt and sorrow.
• When we experience conviction, we should respond by confessing our sins to God and seeking His forgiveness.

In Luke 15, the prodigal son’s father’s arms were stretched wide, ready to receive him. So God does to his children; and we can run into His arms of forgiveness, amen.

Resources:

• Please see description

Devotional:

Title: “Psalm 38 and What to Do with Sin”

     When the believer sins there is misery and guilt and conviction that are designed and delineated by the Holy Spirit to bring us back into the loving arms of our heavenly Father. Sin brings so many consequences, and it’s good for the believer to consider the consequences of sin in order to avoid sinning. While not all trials are a result of sin, some are the chastening hand of God. Jesus rebuked the knee-jerk assumption of the Pharisees and chastised them when they made this assumption that the man Jesus healed in John 9 was born blind as a result of his or his parent’s sin. That’s not the right assumption for anyone to make of another. Psalm 38 shows us that the writer was in turmoil specifically in this context because of his in; period. That’s the immediate context of this Psalm. I’m not saying that’s the context for all suffering; I am not saying that. When we experience the chastening hand of God’s conviction, it would serve us well to examine the consequences of sin as a means of aide to help us not to sin. As Jesus said in John 8:11, “… “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]

     Here is a list of consequences to ponder to help us say “No” to sin.  

• Inner misery
• Guilt
• Regret
• Shame
• Feelings of Unworthiness
• Fear
• Heartache
• The pain caused to others
• Loss of trust in relationships
• The hurt caused to others
• The calluses of conscience
• If sin is repeated, the understandable lack of assurance of salvation (I Jn. 3:4-10)
• The loss of service
• The sense of distance from fellowship with God and loss of intimacy with Him
• The distance created with others
• Anxieties
• Isolating loneliness
• Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual maladies
• Other

     God’s grace is revealed to us in that the warnings of these consequences compel the believer to walk in His grace.

     God’s grace is revealed to us in that the experiencing of consequences compels the believers to return to walking in God’s grace; and it’s ready and available to the believer who owns up to and confesses the known and unknown sin. Satan wants the believer to stay stuck in regret and shame, and other debilitating emotions. God the Father is waiting for us with open arms, ready for us to run into His embrace. 

How to Pray:

• Confess any known sin
• Confess any unknown sin due to a calloused conscience
• Receive His forgiveness
• Thank Him
• Walk in the light with other believers in a loving, local church context