Sermon 5-10-2020
Why Should I Forgive The Guilty? Psalm 41:1-13
Psalm 41:1-3
Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
2 The Lord protects and preserves them—
they are counted among the blessed in the land—
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.
The merciful receive mercy.
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Psalm 41:4-8
I said, “Have mercy on me, Lord;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
Admit and own your sin.
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5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it around.
An unmerciful heart needs to judge and smear their enemies.
7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
An unforgiving hear assumes the worst.
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Verse 9 takes the unforgiving heart example of the first 8 verses and shows how it can even affect the heart of a friend.
Psalm 41:9
Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned against me.
The worst wounds come from those close to us.
Who is this trusted friend of David’s who turns on him?
2 Samuel 16:23
Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.
Ahithophel was David’s closest and trusted advisor and mentor.
2 Samuel 16:20-22
Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?” 21 Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
Why did Absalom hate and rebel against David?
When David’s son Amnon raped Tamar, Absalom’s sister, David did nothing. (2 Samuel 13:1-2,14)
Amnon ran and stayed away for two years.
Then Absalom tricked his brother Amnon to come back, got him drunk, and ordered his men to kill Amnon.
Why would Ahithophel, David’s trusted adviser, turn on his dearly loved king and give such evil advise to Absalom?
2 Samuel 17:1-2
Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
2 I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king.
Have you ever turned on a friend? Did they deserve it?
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2 Samuel 11:1-5
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.
They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her.
The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.
(Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
2 Samuel 23:34
Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite,
Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam.
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2 Samuel 17:23
When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown.
He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
When Ahithophel’s plans for Absalom to kill David were ignored, Ahithophel was so overwhelmed with hate, he took his own life.
Do you remember where we started? The merciful receive mercy.
Is there a friend or a foe you need to forgive?
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Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Why should I forgive the guilty?
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Psalm 41:9
Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.
John 13:18
“I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen.
But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
John 13:18 takes place at the last supper.
Ahithophel foreshadowed the treachery and fate of Judas.
Unforgiveness will destroy you!
A person after God’s own heart is someone who has received God’s forgiveness and has chosen to forgive the guilty.
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Don’t give the enemy a stronghold in your life.
Choose God’s blessing not a bitter soul and life.
Who do you need to forgive?
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Psalm 41:10-13
But may you have mercy on me, Lord;
raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 Because of my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence forever.
13 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
God forgave King David.
David forgave himself!
Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Have you forgiven yourself for your sins?
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you though the word?
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