God Gives Us Full Redemption in Jesus Christ

We are continuing our message series called ‘Grace Changes Everything.’ And each week, we’ve been taking a look at how we live out the Gospel in various aspect of our lives.

How many of you would say that you made at least one poor choice when you were a teenager? Like you did something that you shouldn’t have done. How many of you would say that you made a whole lot of poor choices when you were a teenager?

When I was a teenager, I didn’t get in trouble very often, but every now and then, I would find myself making a poor choice. In fact, the one that I remember the most – the one that is seared into my brain forever – happened back in 2004. I was 16 years old. And the youth group at our church – we had gone over to Orlando for the National Youth Gathering. And this gathering was a bunch of Lutheran youth groups from all over the country who came together for a few days of programs and activities and worship. And as a high school student, it was really cool to go to such a big event.

On the second or third day of this youth gathering, my friend Brandon and I – we were walking through the convention center looking at all the activities that we could do. And as we were looking around, we came across this table full of these blank, plush dolls. They looked kind of like this. And the idea was that you could take some markers and you could draw faces on them and hair on them and clothes on them and make them into these really cool dolls. Brandon and I thought they were kind of creepy, like voodoo dolls, but the lady at the table said we could make a doll of ourselves or a doll of Jesus. And we were like, “Ah, that’s ok. I think we’re going to pass.” And she said, “Well here, just take a couple. Maybe you can make some later.” And so, we took them and said thank you and then we moved on to the next activity table.

At some point later that day, Brandon and I decided to go back to our hotel to drop some things off. And so, we walked over to the hotel, we hopped into the elevator, and as we got off onto our floor, Brandon turned to me and said, “Dude! You know what would be hilarious?” And I was like, “What?” He said, “We should take one of these creepy dolls and put it in an empty elevator so that when the doors open and someone walks into the elevator, that’s what they’ll see: a creepy doll lying on the ground.” And I said, “Oh! That would be hilarious! You should totally do that!”

And so, Brandon grabbed one of the dolls from his backpack and this is what he drew – I’ll never forget this – he took a blue marker, and he drew ‘x’s for the eyes and an ‘x’ for the mouth, and then on the torso of the doll, he wrote an ominous message. And we thought, “Oh man! This is going to be hilarious when somebody finds this!” And so, we pressed the elevator button, and when the door opened, Brandon placed the doll in the center of the elevator. And then we watched the door close. And as we walked back to our room, we could not stop laughing about what we had just done.

Later that night, around 8 pm, our youth group met in one of the hotel rooms for our nightly devotions, and our youth leader – Randy – stood up and said, “Hey, before we get started tonight with the devotion, I have an announcement to make. Um, apparently, there has been a threat made against the hotel. And the police are downstairs with a K-9 unit. And they’ve asked all the youth leaders to check with their youth groups to see if anybody has any information about this threat. And they also said that we may have to pack our things and evacuate pretty soon here.”

And friends, all of a sudden, I got this terrible lurching feeling in my stomach, and I began to shake with fear because, while everybody else in our youth group looked confused as to what could be going on, I knew exactly what Randy was talking about.  Keep in mind, this wasn’t a Motel 6 like the ones that Pastor Paul stays at. We were staying at the Orlando Peabody Resort. Meaning that there were hundreds and hundreds of people staying at this hotel. And so I’m sitting there, my heart is pounding, my body is shaking, and I look over at Brandon. And Brandon is giving me this look like, “Don’t you dare say anything.” But I was so scared that I couldn’t shake it. And so, I said, “Uh, hey Randy. Can I talk to you in the hallway for a moment?” And so, we left the hotel room and stood in the hallway, and I said, “Um, Randy, I think I know what that threat is about. You see, earlier today, Brandon and I put a doll with an ominous message in an empty elevator. And we thought it would be funny. Like somebody would walk into the elevator, see the doll, and go, “Ha, ha, ha. Good one.” But apparently, it seems like whoever found it did not find it very funny. And uh, Randy, I am so sorry. We had no idea.”

Well, immediately, Randy went and got Brandon and talked to him about it, and a few minutes later, Brandon had to go down to the lobby and explain to the entire K-9 unit that he was the one who had written the message on the doll, and it was meant to be a practical joke. And then shortly after they had left, Randy had Brandon and I go around and apologize to our youth group and the front desk staff and the hotel manager. I mean, we apologized to pretty much anybody and everybody for what we had done. And to add salt to the wound, check this out. For the rest of our time at the National Youth Gathering, everywhere we went, kids were walking around with these dolls. Which meant that Brandon and I were constantly reminded of the boneheaded decision we had made.

Now, friends, the reason I share that story is because today – now decades later – I can still vividly remember that poor choice that Brandon and I had made. And the reason I can remember it is because I felt so much guilt and shame for what we had done.

You know, about a year ago, I shared a message on how you and I as people tend to keep a record of other peoples’ wrongs. That when somebody comes into our lives, it’s like we take a box, we put their name on it, and then whenever that person messes up or makes a mistake, it’s like you take out a pen and you write down their mistake on a sheet of paper, and you put it in their box. And the more they wrong us, the more we add to their box. Right? As people, you and I tend to keep a record of other people’s wrongs.

But, friends, you know what we didn’t talk about in that message? Not only do we keep a record of other people’s wrongs, but we also keep a record of our own wrongs. In other words, you and I also have boxes with our names on them, and whenever we make a poor choice or we do something sinful, we add that wrong to our box. For example, my friend and I almost caused an entire hotel to evacuate because we put a doll in an elevator with an ominous message on it. Into the box it goes.

Now, what’s interesting is that the way we organize the boxes that we keep on ourselves is oftentimes very different than the way we organize the boxes that we keep on other people.

Ok, for the boxes we keep on other people, we tend to keep their worst wrongs right at the very top of their box. And the reason we do this is so that whenever that person tries to point out our flaws, we can open up their box, and we can hit them with some of the worst things they’ve ever done to us.

For example, your family member says, “Hey, you’re being kind of rude.” And you say, “Oh yeah? You want to talk about rude? How about that time 17 years ago when you refused to talk to me for an entire month?” And we kind of wave it in their face, right? You see, when it comes to other people, we tend to keep their worst wrongs at the very top of their box.

But you know what? When it comes to our own box of wrongs, oftentimes, we tend to do just the opposite. For example, you open up your box, and at the very top are the things you’ve done that you’re not proud of, but you wouldn’t be crushed if other people found about them. Like that time you cursed at a driver for cutting you off in traffic. Or that time when you ate all of grandma’s candies and blamed it on the dog. Or that time on Black Friday when you pushed somebody out of the way at Walmart to get the last Tickle-Me-Elmo. Or that time when you watched something that you knew you shouldn’t have watched…you know what I’m talking about, right? A Hallmark Channel Original Movie? Right?

But you know what? Then you get down a little deeper in the box and it gets a little more personal. Like that one time you yelled at your spouse and your kids were watching. Or that time you lied to a friend, and they found out, and it damaged your relationship. Or that time you gossiped about your coworker, and they were really hurt that not only did you participate in it, but you…you started it. Or that time when you were a teenager, and you told your parents that they didn’t know anything and that you wish you had had different parents.

And, friends, then you get to the very bottom of the box. And at the very bottom of the box are things that you’ve thought and said and done that nobody knows about. The person sitting next to you today might not even know about these things. And you know what? The reason why nobody knows about them is because you’ve tried so hard for so long to keep those sins hidden because you know that if people found out about them that they would look at you differently for the rest of your life. And so, what do we do? We keep them hidden. We keep them in here.

You see, friends, not only do we keep a record of other people’s wrongs, but we also keep a record of our own wrongs. And you know what? In light of our message series, here’s the question that we’re going to look at today: As Christians, what do we do with the boxes we that keep on ourselves? In other words, as followers of Jesus, how exactly are we supposed to deal with this record of our wrongs?

Ok, to help us answer this question, we’re going to take a look at Psalm 130. Now, this psalm is known as a psalm of ascent. And the reason it’s called a psalm of ascent is because the author begins the psalm at a low place of guilt and shame. And as the psalm progresses, he then begins to ascend until he reaches a place of forgiveness and grace. And, friends, what I love about this psalm is that it so clearly and beautifully shows us why grace changes absolutely everything.

Ok, let’s dive into it this morning – Psalm 130, beginning at verse 1. Take a look. The psalmist says, ¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; ² Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

Friends, where is the psalmist? He’s in the depths, right? In other words, he finds himself in perhaps the lowest moment of his life. Now, he doesn’t tell us what he did, but we can guess that if he is in the depths, then he’s probably done something that is so bad and so heinous that he’s overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

It’s from that place of guilt and shame that he then cries out to God. What does he ask Him for? He asks for what? For mercy, right? “Lord, I’m in a bad spot. I am at the lowest of the lows. I am burdened by the guilt and shame of my sins. And I cry out to you for mercy.”

Now, check this out: the reason the psalmist asks God for mercy is because of the realization that he comes to in the next verse.

Take a look – verse 3. He says, ³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? Friends, let me ask you – how many sins have you committed? When you consider your entire life, how many sins have you committed? 1,000? 10,000? 100,000? A million? A billion? How many sins have you committed? You know, the answer is that we don’t really know. But, friends, you know who does know? God. God knows every single instance in which we have fallen short of His standard.

You see, the boxes we keep on ourselves – these are the sins that we can remember. Right? These are the things that stick with us after they happen. But, friends, this is only a partial record of our wrongs. Because, as the psalmist had to come to realize, if God kept a record of our wrongs, He wouldn’t just need a box. He’d need boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes. I mean, think about this. With just my sins alone, God would have to rent out every single storage facility from here to Jacksonville. That’s how many boxes I would have.

And so, friends, this is why the psalmist cried out for mercy. Because he knew that if God keeps a record of our sins – if He knows every sinful thing we’ve ever done – who can stand? You? Me? Anybody? As the psalmist figured out, the answer was nobody. If God keeps a record of our sins, nobody will be able to stand.

Now remember, Psalm 130 is a psalm of ascent. Which means that we’re starting down here but eventually, we’re going to end up here. And so, check this out – the psalmist now begins his ascent by showing us his very big ‘but.’ Ok, that came out a little weird, but take a look with me. Verse 4. He says, But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. But with you…there is forgiveness. You see, verse 4 shows us that the way that God deals with our boxes is very different from the way that you and I deal with our boxes.

For example, some of us – we deal with our boxes by simply ignoring them. In other words, when we look back on our lives, there are some horrible things that we did. And instead of addressing them or seeking counseling for them or find peace with them, we numb our pain by ignoring them. We take the lid and we close the box and we take that box and we shove it far back into our mind.

And to make sure we don’t think about those sins, what do we do? We keep busy. We keep moving. We keep running. Because we know that the moment we stop, we’re going to have to deal with the things that are in our box. And so, for some of us, the way we deal with our boxes is by ignoring them and pretending that they’re not even there.

There are some of us who do just the opposite. We don’t ignore our boxes. We fixate on them. In fact, we’ve never even put the lid on our boxes because we can’t stop thinking about some of the shameful things that we’ve done in our past.

We wake up in the morning, and there it is. Or we’re in the middle of a conversation and the other person says something that triggers that memory from our past. Or we lie in bed tossing and turning because we cannot shake ourselves of the guilt and shame we feel. You see, some of us our haunted by the sins of our past. They affect the way we think. They affect the way we feel. They affect the way we live. For some of us, we can’t stop fixating on them because we are overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

But you know what? Here’s what we find out in verse 4. God doesn’t ignore our boxes. He doesn’t fixate on our boxes. What does He do? He forgives. He forgives our record of wrongs. How does He do it? Or better yet, how did He do that?

Take a look at how the psalmist finishes his psalm – watch how he ascends. Verse 5. He says, ⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. ⁶ I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. ⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. ⁸ He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

“Lord, from the depths, I cry out to you for mercy. Lord, if you kept a record of sins, who could stand? But with you, there is forgiveness. And so, I’m going to wait and put my hope in your word. And I’m going to continue to wait and I’m going to continue to hope. Because with you is full redemption and Lord – you yourself – are going to redeem us from all of our sins.” Friends, what do we know today? That a few hundred years after this psalm was written – after years of waiting and hoping – God Himself came into the world to redeem us from all of our sins – just like the psalmist said.

The question that we set out to answer was this: that As Christians, what do we do with the boxes that we keep on ourselves? In other words, as followers of Jesus, how exactly are we supposed to deal with this record of our wrongs? And, friends, the key to answering this question is understanding that Jesus has already dealt with the contents of our boxes. That 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross, He redeemed us from every single one of our sins. Every single one.

Like that time you cursed at a driver for cutting you off in traffic? Forgiven. Or that time when you ate all of grandma’s candies and blamed it on the dog? Forgiven. Or that time on Black Friday when you pushed somebody out of the way at Walmart to get the last Tickle-Me-Elmo? Forgiven.

Or how about that one time when you yelled at your spouse and your kids were watching? Forgiven. Or that time you lied to a friend? Forgiven. Or that time you gossiped about your coworker? Forgiven. Or that time when you were a teenager, and you said some horrible things to your parents? Forgiven.

Or how about the things at the very bottom of the box? The things you’ve thought and said and done that nobody really knows about? Forgiven. You say, “But Chris, you don’t know some the things that I’ve done.” You’re right. I don’t. But you know what? God does. And not a single one of those things that you did has ever kept Him from loving you and forgiving you every single time.

You see, friends, that is why grace changes everything. Because in Jesus Christ, every single one of our sins is accounted for. As the psalmist says, He is our full redemption.

And so, you know what? I want to encourage you this morning. For some of you here today, there are things in this box that you’ve been ignoring. You’ve been running. You’ve been keeping busy. You’ve been doing whatever you can to repress some of these moments from your past. And for some of you, you’ve been running from them for most of your life. And you know what? I imagine that even though you’ve been trying your hardest to ignore and repress some of the things in your box, you still feel burdened by them almost every single day.

And so, you know what? If there are sins in your past that you’ve been to ignore and repress, this morning, I want to encourage you to stop running. Stop running. Slow down and begin to work through these moments from your past. For example, get together with a trusted friend or a counselor and begin to talk about some of these things that you’ve never really talked about before.

Like, “Hey, there’s something that I did in my past that I’m so ashamed of that I can’t even think about it. I’ve never addressed it. I’ve never talked about it. But at the same time, it’s weighing on me, and I can’t continue to live like this. And so, you know what, here’s what happened.”

You see, friends, there is great healing that comes when we begin to deal with the sins of our past. And the first part of that process is believing fully in your heart that whatever you’ve done, no matter how bad it may be, you do not have to be afraid to deal with your sin because Jesus has already dealt with it for you.

At the same time, for some of you here today, there are things in this box that you’ve been fixating on. At some point in time, you said something or did something to a family member or a friend or yourself and you feel so much guilt and so much shame. And you beat yourself up over and over and over again, all the while wishing you could go back in time and fix that wrong.

But, you see, here’s where I want to encourage you this morning: don’t let the things in this box have that kind of control over you. The Bible tells us that if you are in Christ Jesus, you are no longer a slave to your sin. You are a child of God. And as a child of God, Jesus doesn’t want you to live your life burdened by the sins of your past. Instead, He wants you to find freedom and peace in knowing that whenever you are overcome with guilt and shame that you can bring it to Him, and He will take your burden, and He will carry your burden so that you can rest and begin to learn to be at peace with whatever is in this box.

Finally, you may not be currently struggling with either one of these situations. Maybe at one point in your life, you ignored something you did in your past, but at some point, you faced it, you named it, you claimed it, you dealt with it. And you found healing in knowing that Jesus has already accounted for your sin. Or maybe at one point, you fixated on something you did in your past, but since then, you’ve found freedom and peace in knowing that God will never hold that sin against you.

And so maybe, today, you’re not struggling with one of these two situations, but you know what? There are people in your life who are. You likely have family members and friends and coworkers and neighbors who don’t want to face the sins of the past or who are constantly overwhelmed with the sins of their past.

And, friends, one of the greatest witnesses that you can be to them is to come alongside them and show them with your own life experiences – the moments from your own box – that God’s grace in Jesus Christ is greater than whatever they have in their box.

You see, friends, we may not be able to forget some of the things in our boxes. Like, I’m never going to forget that time my friend and I almost evacuated the Orlando Peabody Resort. And you – you’re never going to forget that time you watched a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. But you know what? Even though we may not be able to forget some of these things, we can always find peace in knowing that we serve a God who will never hold these things against us.

You see, this is what the psalmist had come to understand when he sat down and wrote these powerful and beautiful words of Psalm 130. When he said, ¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; ² Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. ³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. ⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. ⁶ I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. ⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. ⁸ He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Friends, my prayer for all of us today is that we may be filled with hope and assurance and peace that in Jesus Christ, we have our full redemption because He has already accounted for every single one of our sins. And, friends, you know what? That kind of grace…it changes everything. It changes the way we think. It changes the way we feel. It changes the way we live. Amen? Amen.

Pastor Chris Futch