Ascent #6 - Ascend for Forgiveness
Message Description
Wexford Campus Adult Ministry Pastor Bryce Vaught continues the message series "Ascent" exploring Psalms 120–134. Together, we’ll reflect on the journey of rising—whether in personal growth, spiritual depth, or relational connection—embracing challenges, celebrating triumphs, and discovering deeper lessons along the way.
Message Transcript
All right, that's some pretty high praise from Russ. And so I feel like there's going to be a big favor that's going to come up tomorrow in our one on one. Like, hey, we need you to do this thing that nobody else wants to do on staff. So I'll keep you updated on what that looks like. Also, it's Valentine's Day. My wife is also on staff, so she is really the greatest hire that the church has made and she tops me. And hopefully that will get me some brownie points this week. So how about we just start with prayer and then we'll get into the text.
Father, thank you for just a day to gather and be with you, God. Even in the midst of just some cloudy, gloomy weather, we have so much to be thankful for. God, we thank you for your word, the life that it gives. And we pray, God, that as we submit to it this morning, that you would transform our hearts and our minds to be more and more like who Jesus is. We thank you for that. In Jesus name, Amen.
Well, as Russ said, we are continuing through our Psalms of Ascent, looking at 129 and 130. And these are really about a journey. These are songs that God's people would sing together as they traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate in the annual feast that they were called to participate in. And thinking about a journey, I was reminded of another journey that a few friends took together in Mark chapter 2. Here we see four friends who have another friend who's paralyzed. He is most likely suffering to quite an extent. And they have heard about this man named Jesus.
At this point, Jesus public ministry is just taking of,f and he's healing the sick and he's casting out demons. And he's teaching in a way that is just engaging, authoritative, and is unlike anything anyone has ever heard. And so these friends, they know that they need to get their friend to Jesus, because he needs help. And so they hear that Jesus is in Capernaum, that's probably really the town that was considered his headquarters. And he's teaching in a home, most likely Peter's home. And they approach and find that this place is crowded. I mean, there's no way to even get through the crowd into the home to see Jesus. And these friends are desperate. So they make their way to the roof and they begin making a hole in the ceiling. The ceiling most likely would have been made of some compact mud, and maybe it would have taken a little bit, but they make a hole in the ceiling while Jesus is teaching.
It's got to Be an awkward scene. I mean, just sun starts poking through, Jesus keeps going. But eventually they make a hole big enough to where they can lower their friend down on the mat right in front of this big crowd. And it's obvious what this man needs. He can't walk, can't really take care of himself. And finally Jesus looks over and he sees this man on the floor. And I can imagine this guy and his friends are like, okay, here it is. And Jesus walks over to him and he says, son, your sins are forgiven. And that's it.
And I gotta imagine, I don't know for sure, but this guy's probably thinking, thanks? I guess I'll just lay here while you finish teaching, because I can't move. And it's a bit of an awkward moment, but Jesus is making a point. He's making a point to this man, his friends, everyone else who is watching this situation unfold. And the point is this, that sometimes our felt need, or our perceived need is not necessarily our greatest need. That what this man needed, what we all need, more than healing, more than relational security, more than resources, status — we need forgiveness with God. We need that.
Again, when you come to Psalm 129 and 130, which we're looking at today, we see that again, these songs aren't just, you know, travel songs that are good to sing along to. Like you have your favorite travel playlist. These are songs that are meant to reorient the people of God back to the truth of God, what he has promised to do in the world. And Psalm 129 is recognizing that this world has a big problem, that this world is an unjust place and people are treated unfairly. And sometimes the wicked seem to flourish while the innocent seem to just to suffer. And the psalmist is crying out to God and really trusting that God one day will make all things right.
Then in Psalm 130, we see that the psalmist is not wrestling with the world's evil, but he's wrestling with the evil inside his own soul. He makes the statement, God, if you counted sins, who could stand before you? And these two Psalms, as they're traveling to Jerusalem, are really meant to make you aware of the fact that we need sin dealt with. We need sin dealt with. Question is, what is sin? How do we deal with it?
If we're going to deal with it, we need to understand what it is. And first, I think a lot of people in our culture today would just downgrade sin to just wrong actions. Poor behavior and sin certainly includes that, but it's much more than that. Jesus even in teaching, would say, hey, you've heard it said that it's wrong to murder. Every society that has ever existed has considered it evil to murder an innocent person, to take the life of an innocent person. But Jesus comes along and says, but I tell you, even if you hate someone in your heart, you're liable for judgment.
Then he would say, the statement, you've heard it said, look, it's wrong to commit adultery, but if you even look at a woman or a person with lustful intent, you've committed adultery with them in your heart. All to make the point that yes, sin includes wrong actions, but it's more than that. It's also a heart disposition to do those wrong actions. I heard one speaker say recently that sin is kind of like a complex that we all suffer with. That it is like a disease that infects our heart from the moment of conception, that makes us unclean before God and unwilling to be made right with him.
David, in Psalm 51, he had just committed an egregious sin against multiple people. And yet in that moment he has this realization that he says, against you and you alone, God, have I sinned against. Truth being that all sin, no matter who it's against, is ultimately against God, as God is the ruler and the owner of everything, including us as people. That to sin against people is to sin against God. Sin creates a relational debt.
Tim Keller made an economic example. He said, imagine that you lend your car to a friend or someone that you know, and they have a bad accident that damages the car. Ultimately, the vehicle needs to be repaired, it needs to function properly again. And so you have a couple options on how to deal with this. You could make the responsible party pay for the damages, you might could work a thing out to where you and the responsible party pay for the damages together, you split the cost, or you can just decide to take the cost yourself and pay for the damages. Ultimately, forgiveness in that situation is taking the cost upon yourself.
The reality is that our sin has resulted in a significant damage to creation. Forgiveness means something has to be paid. We have an insurmountable debt that needs to be paid. And forgiveness is our greatest need. First, because it restores immediately our relationship with God, our relationship with who we are as people, and it opens the door for relationships with others, but it's also essential because God's forgiveness promises that one day everything will be restored to the proper function that it was intended to work with.
Today I just want to spend some time going through Psalm 130, where we look at how God's forgiveness restores a relationship with him, restores a relationship even with our own selves, and restores a relationship with others.
So let's look at Psalm 130. Starting in verse 1, the psalmist says, “Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.”
God's forgiveness restores and redeems our relationship with him. We were created in the beginning to exist and function in right relationship with God. That God made us in his image, and basically he established us in the garden and said, hey, Adam and Eve, humanity, go and make the rest of the world flourish like I've made this garden. We do this together. We live in reliance with God and we see the flourishing of creation. And so when Adam and Eve sinned, this wasn't just an accident or a mistake. And it wasn't just a moment of curiosity. This was an act of defiance where Adam and Eve, representing humanity, said, you know what, God thanks for creation, but we'll take it from here. We'll take upon ourselves the right to discern what is good and what really will flourish. And in that moment, we separated ourselves from right relationship with God.
Yet God, in His mercy, didn't just leave us to our own. He sought us out. We see that as God comes and he delivers his people from Egypt, he leads them through the sea into the wilderness. And he eventually leads them to Mount Sinai, where his intention is to reestablish a relationship with humanity, starting with the people of Israel. And he brings this covenant to them. And he says, look, you've seen what I've done to Egypt. And you know my power, how I've rescued you and delivered you to myself. And if you will agree to live in right relationship with me and follow my instructions, then you will be a blessing to the whole world, that everyone will see how good and right I am, and how good and right it is to live in God's way. And God's people, they're like, hey, that sounds great. They tell Moses, whatever God says to do, we will do. Thing is, it's much easier said than done.
Immediately, they break the covenant. Repeatedly they break the covenant. God foreseeing that this would happen, he put a provision in place that would allow them to maintain a relationship with God. God says that if you once you sin, if you repent and turn from your sin, then you will experience forgiveness. And they would experience that through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. That sin has a cost. And instead of them losing their life, they would have an animal substitute on their behalf through bulls and goats. They would do this over and over and over and over and over again, all throughout their history, because they could never live up to the covenant. They were always breaking relationship with God. As important as the sacrificial system was, it ultimately proved to be ineffective.
Look how the writer of Hebrews says it in Hebrews chapter 10. Starting in verse 1, he says, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
And so, as important as it was, it helped God's people realize that sin has a cost. But ultimately it could not change their hearts. It only made them realize that they had a great need that could not be satisfied. And that's where Jesus comes in. He enters into the earth. He offers his own life as a sacrifice and a substitute for sinners. And the writer of Hebrews goes on in that same chapter, starting in verse 12, he says, “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
That last phrase, that ultimately the sacrifice of Jesus is more effective than the sacrifice of bulls and goats because it actually accomplished what we needed. The good news of the Gospel is not just that God forgives us, but that God forgives us and transforms us. He creates in us a new heart that desires a right relationship with him. It gives us new abilities to begin to live that right relationship out. It justifies us, it sanctifies us. In other words, it sets us apart to continue to grow and be formed to the character of Christ. And the good news is that one day that work will be brought to completion where we are glorified in God's presence forever. This is good news. God's forgiveness is essential because it restores a right relationship with Him.
I don't know about you, I've been a Christian for some time, and yet I still find it difficult at times to relate with God. Partly because God's invisible, really growing in a relationship with someone, a lot of that is being in their presence and learning their mannerisms and being able to read their body language. And sometimes you just have to imagine what God is feeling and thinking. And sometimes I imagine that his thoughts towards me might be negative.
It's interesting. I read a book several years ago. It was called “Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard”, and it was all about how to initiate and accomplish change in people and organizations. And several years ago, the idea was that if you wanted to lead people in change, you had to create a burning platform. In other words, what you would do is you would paint this doom and gloom picture that would create this feeling of fear or anxiety or guilt, and it would create this picture that the people felt like they had no choice but to jump off this burning platform. That they had to change. And what studies show is that while that really does lead to some initial change, but it doesn't lead to lasting change. Because as soon as things calm down, people go right back to the habits they had before. And what they learned is that if you really want to create lasting change in people and organizations, you really had to lead through positive emotions. Because if things are going to change permanently, you have to develop skills. And skills can only be developed when people feel free to try and play and fail without the fear of punishment.
That's what God's forgiveness does for us. That we can now live with him, not out of a spirit of fear, but out of a spirit that knows that our God loves us and is for us. The forgiveness of God also realigns a right relationship within our own souls. Again, let's go back to Psalm 130, where it says in verse 5, the psalmist says, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”
One thing I appreciate about the authors of the Psalms is, you know, you can read through them and there's a lot of emotional swings. Sometimes they can be really joyful. Sometimes they can be really just anxious or fearful or angry. And yet, what you realize as you read through them is that these people had a deep sense of who God was. They had a deep sense of who they were. They understood what they were feeling, and they knew what to do with what they were feeling. That is the definition of what it means to be an emotionally mature spiritual person. They had a good relationship with themselves, that if we really are going to grow and experience Christ, we need to have a healthy relationship with ourselves.
I like the way that John Calvin says it. “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.”
One of the church fathers, Augustine, says it this way,“How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self?” He prayed: ‘Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee.’”
The apostle Paul, in writing to his young protege Timothy, would encourage him, hey, keep a close eye on both yourself and your doctrine.
The reality is that all of us have some type of relationship with ourselves, and that if we're really going to experience progress in the Christian faith, we need to have a healthy relationship with ourself. I think far too often there's a lot of ways that we relate to ourselves.
Some would probably just try to avoid any kind of introspection or understanding. We don't ask questions, we don't think and try to understand why we do what we do. There's no reflection. You just busy yourself with activities and you numb your mind with events or substances and we just avoid trying to know who we are at all. And we just base our whole worth on what we do. And the other side of that, we have a relationship with ourself that's negative because we go the opposite direction. We are over analyzing everything that we do, think, say and feel. And we can become so self critical that it becomes hard to even function in life. And both of those are a form of really an unbiblical and an unhealthy self image.
There's been a lot written over the years on how to help, because this is such a common problem in our world. I would say even in ministry, one of the things that hinders more people than I initially realized is that they just have a poor self image. There's a lot of things that you can find to try to help with this. And some are good, some are not so good, some are just rooted in pride. But one thing that I think sounds helpful but really isn't is this idea that we just need to forgive ourselves. I've heard it over and over and over again as I minister with people, that they'll say something like, you know what? I know God forgives me, but I just can't forgive myself.
And that sounds very noble. But in that moment, what you're saying is, look, I know God has a high standard, but my standard is higher. God has a level of holiness, but my holiness is much bigger than his is. And even though God says that I'm forgiven in Jesus and that my debt has been paid, I still have to pay more. And so the question is, who is God in your life? Whose word is more authoritative? Is Jesus enough, or do you still need to pay God back? That really, in order to grow in a right relationship with God, we need to have a good, healthy view of ourselves. And that doesn't mean you need to forgive yourself. That means you need to rest in God's forgiveness.
One way you can kind of begin to monitor how you have a relationship with yourself is begin to pay attention to your self talk. All of us have a running commentary in our mind all the time. And I remember one pastor, he shared this story how he was new in his role, in a pretty small town, and he wanted to begin to gain some traction with people in his congregation. And he knew that they met together, some of them, met together at a diner on Fridays for lunch. And he's like, you know, I'll go there and I'll meet with them. And he, he walks in and he goes over to their table and it's a bit awkward. People are still kind of feeling each other out and it's just a bit weird at first. He's just trying to build relationship and he's like, you know what, I'm not going to stay. I'm just going to get my lunch, get it to go and head back to the office. And all the way back to the office he kept thinking, you know, I don't know why I do this. They don't even like me. I can't gain any traction. Somebody with a different personality would fit in better. And on and on and on. He just filled his mind with negative self talk until he realized what he was doing. That ultimately the issue wasn't with how they related with him. The issue is how he was relating with himself.
Again, if we're going to grow in the Christian life, our love for God and our love for others, part of it is realizing and having a healthy view of who God says that we are and resting in God's forgiveness on our behalf. God's forgiveness redeems a relationship with him, it realigns our good relationship with ourselves, but it also leads to the renewed possibility of having healthy relationships with others again.
The Psalmist in 130 says,“Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.”
One thing that you begin to see throughout your reading of Scripture is that when people begin to experience the kindness and love and forgiveness of God, it creates something in them that wants other people to experience that same thing. That we want other people to know, the freedom that comes with enjoying God's forgiveness. In fact, Jesus would go on to teach, he says, those who have been forgiven much, loves much, that forgiveness is to be such a high mark of the Christian life, that it can be said that if you really refuse to forgive others, it might be evidence that you haven't even experienced the forgiveness of God yourself.
And sometimes forgiveness comes easy. It's like it comes out of nowhere. It's not even sourced from you. You just feel this coming from God himself that enables you to forgive hard things and you can get over things quickly. But then sometimes it doesn't happen that way. Sometimes there's a long history of abuse or assault or a deep betrayal from the person that you considered your closest companion on earth, that it just creates a wound that never seems to heal. And if you're someone who's trying to follow Christ, that can create a sense of a burden because you know that you should forgive. And you begin to question yourself. How can I consider myself a good Christian if I can't forgive?
I think at this point it's helpful to point out a few things that forgiveness is not. Forgiveness is not condoning, excusing, or minimizing sin. I think a lot of people worry that, well, if I forgive sin, then the guilty party goes unpunished. You can look at Psalm 129, which is part of our text this weekend that I'm not necessarily reading from. But in it, the psalmist has this recognition. He understands that there's great injustice, that people have treated him unfairly. But his conclusion is that ultimately one day God will work on the behalf of all those who've been treated poorly and sinned against. No one goes without being fairly treated. And so for those who've been sinned against, you can trust that those who sinned against you will be handled by God, and you don't have to repay them.
So forgiveness isn't the same thing as condoning sin or minimizing sin. It's entrusting that God is going to work on your behalf. Also, we see that forgiveness is not the same thing as forgetting. We hear people say all the time. Well, you just need to forgive and forget. Sometimes it's impossible to forget. In fact, there's really good research that when people go through a traumatic event, your body can actually really take on that event, and it won't even let you forget. That ultimately, forgiveness is not about forgetting. Sometimes you'll have to go back and forgive the same person for the same thing over and over and over and over again.
Also, we need to understand that forgiveness isn't necessarily the same thing as reconciliation. As people of Christ, we are called to pursue reconciliation. But sometimes forgiveness happens, and reconciliation is a long process. We're sinners, and we live and relate with other sinners. And sometimes reconciliation can happen miraculously in a moment. Sometimes it can take the course of years and a lot of conversations and maybe some healthy boundaries. We should pursue that. But it's not a guarantee in all cases.
So what is forgiveness? Forgiveness is absorbing the cost and not punishing the other party for what they've done. And sometimes this can feel like a big loss or even a death, but it's a death that leads to resurrection and the possibility for new life and relationships.
Going back to the journey of the friends that we looked at in Mark, chapter 2. We again are kind of entering into an awkward situation. The guy's just laying here, still unable to walk, didn't receive what he probably came there for. And some people in the crowd are beginning to murmur, and they're asking themselves, well, this is blasphemous. Jesus saying he can forgive sins, because who can forgive sins but God alone? It's a great question.
And so Jesus, knowing what they're thinking about and the conversation that's taking place, he asked the question himself. He says, which is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven, or pick up your mat and walk? Now, I just want you to pause for a minute. If you were in this kind of position, if someone brought to you someone who was suffering physically, what would be easier to tell them: your sins are forgiven, or pick up your mat and walk?
Honestly, it's easier to say, hey, your sins are forgiven, because there's nothing that can be done to prove whether or not that really happened. But if you tell the person, pick up your mat and walk, it better have authority to actually work. And so Jesus makes this statement. He says, so you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, pick up your mat and walk. And immediately this guy is healed. So Jesus asked the question, what's easier to say?
Maybe another question we can ask is what's easier to do, heal a person or have their sins forgiven with God? For Jesus, I would say it's probably easier to heal the person. He does this repeatedly, instantly, from a distance, no problem. Nothing stands against Jesus’ word, but when it comes to having our sins forgiven with God, it's going to cost him his life. He will have to endure the punishment of the cross, the wrath of God, in order to pay back the debt that we owe. And as we consider ascending to God for forgiveness, forgiveness is not a skill that we master. It's not elementary knowledge. This is a journey. It's not a journey to develop more forgiveness in yourself. It's a journey toward resting in the forgiveness that God has extended to us through Christ.
Part of how we do that as people of faith is we participate in the Sacrament of Communion, which we're going to do here shortly. As the team makes their way to the front, we're going to respond with the team. And here at Orchard Hill, we practice open communion, which means if you're a follower of Christ, we invite you to the table to come and eat. And you can come and you can take the bread, dip it in the wine and eat it. We also have some gluten free packets as well if you would like that option.
If you're not a follower of Christ, we encourage you to not feel any pressure to come and participate something that you're not totally bought into. Just, we encourage you to take this moment to abstain and reflect on what's been presented and begin to consider what that might mean for you moving forward. But for those of us who are placing their faith in Christ, this is a moment to come and rest again in the forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ. That he has endured the punishment that we deserved, and he has paid back in full the debt that we owe, and we have a new relationship with God. And we have the promise that this forgiveness one day will result in the renewal of all things. Let's pray.
Father, thank you for this opportunity to rest again in your forgiveness. Father, we confess so often we think our greatest need is something so much less than what it really is. And we thank you that you have extended to us grace and mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. I pray for those here who need a renewed relationship with you, God, that you would accomplish that. Help us to learn to relate with ourselves in a way that's healthy and to love others the way that you've called us to. God, we rest in you today in Jesus name.
At this time, please feel free to stand, and you can participate with the team.
This transcript was automatically generated. Please excuse errors.
