Practicing the Way – A Template for Healing – Sermon – Pastor Dave Page

Have you ever felt stuck in life? Perhaps you’ve made the same mistakes over and over, or you’ve struggled with a sense of spiritual stagnation, longing for change but unable to find your way forward. Imagine a person who has tried countless times to quit a bad habit. They resolve every New Year to do better, and for a while, they might. Inevitably though, the cycle likely repeats. Like the chair we looked at over time, worn down, broken down. The frustration grows. They want to change but don’t know how.

Look at the Apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, as an example of someone who felt stuck in a cycle of failure. Peter was bold and passionate, but he often acted impulsively and out of fear. Simply think about the night of Jesus’ arrest. Despite promising earlier that he would never deny Jesus—even declaring he would die for Him—Peter failed spectacularly. Not once, not twice, but three times, Peter denied knowing Jesus, even cursing to distance himself further (Luke 22:54-62).

After the rooster crowed, Peter realized what he had done, and he went out and wept bitterly. Can you imagine the frustration and guilt he must have felt? He wanted to do better. He resolved to stand by Jesus no matter what, but, in the face of fear and pressure, Peter repeated the same mistakes of self-preservation. He wanted to change but didn’t know how. Peter was a Jew. I wonder if he ever felt the burden that David felt when he wrote the Psalm we started with this morning. In Psalm 51, David confesses his sins to God, holding nothing back. David doesn’t lay blame anywhere but on himself. He makes no attempt to excuse his actions. His words are those of absolute humility and anguish over sin. David appeals to God’s mercy and love, knowing that he can be forgiven.

If you think again of Peter’s story, we recall that it didn’t end in failure. After Jesus’ resurrection, He sought Peter personally. On the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”—one for each denial. Through this encounter, Jesus forgave and restored Peter, even commissioning him to “feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Later, with authority fueled by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter broke free from his cycle of fear and failure, becoming a powerful leader of the early church.

Peter was that chair. Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee restores Peter and Peter’s journey reminds us that while we may sometimes feel stuck, Jesus offers healing and, as we have been discussing, transformation. The key is to let Jesus into those broken places and trust Him to do the same for us as he did for Peter.

For some of us, this story might feel all too familiar because in one way or another, we’ve all been there. We want to live fully as Jesus promised in John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” Yet, so often, we find ourselves falling short.

This will be our last message to you in the Practicing the way series and to draw this to a close I want us to explore the two essential elements of transformation that Jesus demonstrates with his apprentices over and over again: healing from sin and a way to live intentionally in alignment with Him. These are the twin themes of today’s message: healing and transformation. You see, true spiritual growth involves addressing the effects of sin in our lives while crafting a rhythm of life that draws us closer to Jesus. These are the essential components of the transformation we’ve been discussing these past weeks.

Segment 1: Healing from Sin

Key Insight: A vital part of our spiritual journey is not just avoiding sin but finding healing from the ways sin has affected us.

1. Understanding the Dimensions of Sin

Comer does an excellent job of helping us to understand the various dimensions of sin and sin’s impact on us. Let’s begin with Romans 7:18-20, where Paul confesses his struggle with sin:

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Paul’s words should resonate deeply with each of us because sin is pervasive, affecting every part of our lives. It operates on three levels:

• Sin done by us:
  These are the wrongs we commit—acts of selfishness, dishonesty, or unkindness.

I appreciate this acronym that Comer shares – “HPTMTU”—shorthand for “the human propensity to muck things up.” This dimension of Sin is usually the most familiar to us, because it’s of us.

But there are other dimensions of sin that impact us also:

• Sin done to us:
  the wounds inflicted by others, such as betrayal, abuse, or rejection. Comer says, “Hurt people hurt people,” as the saying goes, and it’s true.” I suspect you’ve had experience with this somewhere as well.

And finally, there’s this third dimension of sin that we don’t necessarily pick up on right away – it’s not so personal as these first two dimensions but it is just as impactful.

• Sin done around us:
  This is the brokenness of the world—things like systemic injustice, natural disasters, or cultural decay. Comer says, “think breathing secondhand smoke or toxic air—no one would hold you guilty in a court of law, but that doesn’t make it any less lethal.”

Take a moment to consider how these dimensions of sin manifest in your own life. Perhaps you’ve struggled with bitterness caused by the actions of others or felt discouraged by the brokenness in society. Sin is like a web that entangles us, affecting our actions, relationships, and even our worldview. Even in David’s time when he writes this Psalm he knows the power of sin in him and around him

2. The Layers of Sin We Must Address

Psalm 51:3: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

The healing process requires us to confront the layers of sin within us:

• Gross sins are the obvious, outward behaviors like lying, stealing, or harming others.
• Conscious sins are attitudes or actions we know are wrong but tolerate, such as jealousy or gossip.
• Unconscious sins are patterns we may not recognize but which harm ourselves and others, like deep-seated pride or prejudice.
• Attachments are like idols, not always tangible but where we place good things like success, relationships, or comfort above God.

Imagine an iceberg. You know the adage of an iceberg; only a small portion is visible above the surface, but the bulk lies hidden beneath the water. Our sin is like that iceberg. God’s healing requires us to address not only what’s visible but also the deeper, hidden issues.

3. The Practice of Confession

Do you know why we make sure to have a time of confession, brief though it is, each week in this service?

1 John 1:9 reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Yes, it’s to prepare ourselves to receive God’s word, but more broadly, confession is not just about acknowledging guilt. We confess and then receive an assurance of pardon. It’s about receiving grace and experiencing healing. When we confess, we open ourselves to God’s transforming power, allowing Him to cleanse and restore us.

Practical Application:

This week, in your daily time with God, allow space for self-reflection and confession. Ask God to reveal areas of sin, both visible and hidden, and invite His healing presence into those places.

Comer notes, “Few people realize that the Greek word translated “saved” in the New Testament is sōzō—a word that is often translated “healed.” So, in the Gospels, when you read that Jesus “saved” someone and then read that he “healed” someone, you’re often reading the exact same word. The more we hide, the less we heal”.

We said at the outset that were two essential elements of transformation that Jesus demonstrated with his apprentices over and over again: healing from sin and a way to live intentionally in alignment with Him.