"Stubborn Like A Mule?"
Psalm 32:1-11
Sunday, 3/18/07; Fourth Sunday of Lent

Introduction: Illus. In 1937 the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright built a house for industrialist Hibbard Johnson. One rainy evening Johnson was entertaining distinguished guests for dinner when the roof began to leak. The water seeped through directly above Johnson himself, dripping steadily onto his head. Very upset, he called Wright in Phoenix, Arizona. "Frank," he said, "you built this beautiful house for me and we enjoy it very much. But I have told you the roof leaks, and right now I am with some friends and distinguished guests and it is leaking right on top of my head." It was silent for a moment, and then Wright replied: "Well, Hibbard, why don't you move your chair?"

Have you ever known anyone that was really stubborn? Maybe you are really stubborn. The dictionary says that stubbornness is: “to carry on in an unyielding or persistent manner.” Meaning, that when I think something or I am going to do something, I will be persistent in carrying it out. Even if someone else offers an alternate solution or thought, I will stick with my way.

Unfortunately, we can be this way with God as well. So this morning I want to talk about how we need to get over our stubbornness, and submit to God.

I. Are you like a mule?- (Psalm 32:8-9)

a. The mule- Now a mule is a hybrid animal that is the result of crossing

a female horse with a male donkey. The positive characteristics of the mule is that it possesses the sobriety, patience, endurance and sure-footedness of the donkey, and the vigour, strength and courage of the horse. Many find mules preferable to horses because mules show less impatience under the pressure of heavy weights.

Mules are not really stubborn. This idea comes from the fact that they will not put themselves in danger. A horse can be worked until it drops, but not so with a mule. The "stubborn" streak is just the mule’s way of telling humans that things are not right. Mules are very intelligent and they know when things are not right.

So, because the mule can at times think for itself, and resist the owner, then it is seen as stubborn. The stubbornness is not giving in to the will of the owner. In these times a mule is seen as unruly and ungovernable. The mule will not give in because the mule is seeking to protect itself.

So, if we think about people with this same regard, we see that we have a mind of ourselves. God gave us intelligence and reason. God gave us the ability to make decisions apart from Him. And in our stubbornness, we choose to make decisions on our own. We might think that we are being like the mule, making these decisions for our well being, but much of the time they are not good decisions.

Consequently, we are led into sin; we bring trouble to ourselves. And yet, because of our pride, we cannot let go and let God direct us. We are indeed stubborn, thinking that we know the right way. We are indeed stubborn in that we can’t acknowledge that God’s ways are greater than our ways.

Last week I came across an explanation of “How to be stubborn.” You might find it amusing:

· The first step to being stubborn is to stick with your feelings. (Example: You want to go to the movies but everyone else wants to go bowling, keep firm by letting them know that you won’t go bowling because you don't want to.);

· Next you must stick with your feelings or your mind unless the people around you take extreme measures to try and please you. (Example: They say they will pay for your bowling.);

· Finally when you do get your way, act like it was the right thing for them to do. Being stubborn means that your ways are right, and better than other people.

b. The bit and bridle- So what is to be done when a mule is stubborn?

How can you work with a mule when it is stubborn? First, that is why you have a bit and a bridle. The bit and the bridle are what help the mule to know where you want him to go. The bit helps you to direct the mule, and through the bit the mule learns from you. The bit helps you to be the one “in charge” over the mule.

But second, you need to help the mule overcome his fear. Again, like I said before, the mule becomes stubborn to protect himself from harm. If the mule senses danger, or that it will be harmful to his health, he will resist. Most often, if you help the mule to see that what you are asking him to do is not harmful and not dangerous, then chances are the mule will stop resisting.

This is very true for you and me. We resist because we feel that we know what is best for us. We resist because we are concerned that what God has for us isn’t what we really want or need. And so, because we believe we are so intune with our own needs, we will listen to ourselves before anyone else.

Illus. Like I said last week, I am helping to coach Tyler’s baseball team. This is the fourth year I have helped coach. And in the process I try to teach Tyler how to do things correctly. But it is easy for kids to get into bad habits. For example, sometimes Tyler drops his arm too low when he throws, which causes him to push the ball. That not only makes it difficult to throw the ball, but it isn’t healthy for his arm. So I will correct him and tell him to raise his arm higher. But he fights me on it. Maybe because when he first makes the correction, he doesn’t throw the ball as straight. Or, maybe it is because he just doesn’t believe me that he is doing it wrong.

Until we realize we have this stubbornness in us, we will not be willing to move past it, and seek God more readily.

II. The Steadfastness of the Lord- (Psalm 32:10-11; Luke 15:3-7; Genesis 3:9)

a. A God who pursues- But in the midst of our stubbornness, we have a

God who pursues us. God pursues us with undying love. God will not give up on us, nor will God leave us to our own sinful ways. We were created by God, and loved by God, and God does not want us to stray away. If we do, God will seek us out. As we see in the story of “the Lost Sheep,” in Luke 15:3-7, “Then Jesus told them this parable: ^‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.’”

It is like the book “The Runaway Bunny,” by Margaret Wise Brown:

Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away. So he said to his mother, “I am running away.” “If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.” “If you run after me,” said the little bunny, “I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you.”

“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother, “I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.” “If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny, “I will become a rock on the mountain high above you.”

“If you become a rock on the mountain high above me,” said his mother, “I will be a mountain climber, and I will climb to where you are.”

And on and on the story goes, with the little bunny thinking up different ways to try and get away, and the mother showing how she would continually pursue.

God has shown this kind of pursuing love throughout all of history, starting in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve would daily meet with God. But then one day Eve was deceived by Satan into eating from “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” and then she gave the fruit to Adam to eat. Once they had eaten, they knew they were naked, and so they hid from God. But the Bible tells us in Genesis 3:9- “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” God doesn’t find them at first, and so He calls out to them; He seeks after them. As Psalm 32:11 says- “…but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.” Whose love is steadfast? God’s love for us.

b. A relentless God- Throughout the Old Testament we see this to be

true. Like the “Little Bunny,” the people of Israel stray away from God, and God continually seeks after them. God is relentless in this. So many times God could just have given up on Israel, but He doesn’t, because He is a relentless God.

For example, in the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Kings, we see kings who are faithful to God and the covenant He has set up, and kings that are not. When kings are not, then Israel moves away from God. This moving away does not dissuade God’s love towards His people in any way. God has made a covenant with His people, and God will not turn from that covenant. God lets Israel reap the punishment for her sin, but when Israel turns back, God is there to forgive, love, and restore her again.

Ex. A more contemporary example is that of C. S. Lewis. Lewis is known as the foremost defender of the Christian faith in this century. His books, The Problem of Pain and Miracles, established his reputation as a great Christian apologist. He also wrote Mere Christianity, as well as The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. What most people don’t know about Lewis is that he was an atheist in his early years and did not come to have a faith in Jesus until he was 32 years old. Listen to a letter he wrote when he was just 18 years old:

“You ask me my religious views: you know, I think I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best. All religions, that is, all mythologies, to give them their proper name, are merely man’s own invention . . .

Thus religion, that is to say mythology, grew up. Often, too, great men were regarded as gods after their death — such as Hercules or Odin: thus after the death of a Hebrew philosopher Yeshua (whose name we have corrupted into Jesus), he became regarded as a god, a cult sprang up, which was afterwards connected with the ancient Hebrew Yahweh-worship, and so Christianity came into being — one mythology among many." [From The Letters of C.S. Lewis by W.H. Lewis] But when Lewis was 32, he had begun to accept that there was a God. Yet, he couldn’t give himself over to the idea that there was a personal God. One night Lewis spent an evening discussing mythology and Christianity with some intellectual friends who were Christians, one of whom was the writer, J.R.R. Tolkien. They challenged him as he had never been challenged before to think critically about Jesus. After the meeting broke up, Lewis could not go to sleep. He continued to wrestle with the concept of Jesus as God in the flesh. By 3:00am he had decided to accept Jesus as his Savior. Twelve days later he wrote these words to Tolkien: "I have passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ — in Christianity." As C. S. Lewis talks about his conversion, he says that he came into the kingdom “kicking and screaming.” He talks about how he felt that God was relentlessly seeking him, never giving up on him!

III. The Result of Seeking God- (Psalm 32:1-5, 11)

a. Confession- Yet, having said all of that, I believe the real meat of this

psalm is in the first few verses. The verses challenge us about humbling ourselves before God, removing our stubbornness, and confessing our sins.

EX. My kids love a new show on Nickelodeon called Zoey 101. Zoey is a middle-schooler at an academy in Malibu. One day in class one of her teache’rs talks about the importance of releasing their secrets. So she has them write down their secret, they attached them to a helium-filled balloon, and release them into the sky, thus helping the kids to release these secrets from their psyche. A problem arises when Zoey’s balloon gets stuck on a tree, someone from the school finds it, and tries to blackmail her. If she doesn’t do what she is told, her secret will be revealed to all. Zoey’s friends find out, and they all begin to share their secrets in front of everyone. This gives Zoey the courage to tell her secret, and in the end it IS very freeing.

This show I believe was teaching kids what this passage is teaching us. As Psalm 32:3 says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away…” When we don’t confess our sins regularly, when we keep them hidden inside, it will have a negative affect on our mind and our body. It is very unhealthy. So God has set it up so that we can and should confess our sins to Jesus, and receive cleansing.

But God would also have us find someone that we can trust, and confess our sins to them as well. When we confess our sins to someone else, it is not for the purpose of receiving forgiveness, that only comes from Jesus, but it is for the purpose of releasing our burden. When another person hears our sin, and we see they still love us afterward, it is very freeing and empowering.

b. Protection- This psalm is a wonderful scripture which tells us the way

that God can justify people who are sinners. It tells us of how God protects us from our sin. The climax of the psalm is actually at the beginning of the psalm: “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”

This psalm was written by King David. It was written after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and after he had had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah put in the front lines of the war so he would die (ultimately committing murder). David is then confronted by the prophet Nathan, and David is convicted of his sins and repents. This psalm is the result of these events, and the reminder that God really never gives up on us.

Psalm 32:1-4 (have 2 people alternate readings from within the congregation).

The Hebrews called this an “Asher” psalm. The word Asher means “Happy” or “Blessed.” How can we not be happy, how can we not feel blessed, when we know that God brings us back to Him whenever we go astray, and that He brings us back by not counting our sins against us?! As the great hymn “Rock of Ages” says:

“Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed;

Be of sin the double cure, cleanse me from its guilt and power.”

And then David closes this wonderful psalm with these words in verse 11- “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing all you who are upright in heart!”

Conclusion: How can David say that we are righteous? How can we be upright in heart? This is the message of Lent…..that God forgives us. It was true for David. It is even more true for us, because we know that Christ died on the cross. And we know that when we believe in Jesus, our sins are forgiven. It is just like what Jesus did for the thief hanging on the cross next to Him. The thief asked for forgiveness, and Jesus responded with these words: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” RIGHTEOUS. UPRIGHT. That is the status the thief had after he repented. That is the status you and I have. “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing all you who are upright in heart!” Amen.