WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.360 If you have your Bible, sorry. 00:00:03.859 --> 00:00:05.860 It's been an emotional weekend for me. 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:09.019 So I've been trying to hold you in for about a week. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:11.480 And just hearing Robbie sing. 00:00:12.280 --> 00:00:13.359 Just touch my heart. 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:17.199 If you have your Bible, look with me to 1 John 1, verse 9. 00:00:18.300 --> 00:00:21.179 Those of you who don't know, my daughter got married two days ago. 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:25.080 And, boy, it's been a rollercoaster ride. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.179 So just indulge me for a moment this morning. 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:33.659 1 John 1 and verse 9 is going to be my text for today. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:36.859 And let me just go back and set the stage for the message. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:41.219 I began a series a week ago, just a two-part series, so it's short, 00:00:41.619 --> 00:00:43.859 about a fresh start with God. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:47.519 And for those of you that weren't here, I don't have time to go back in that message, 00:00:47.620 --> 00:00:49.320 but let me just bring you up to speed where we are. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:56.219 We talked about last week the toll that unconfessed sin takes on people's lives. 00:00:56.219 --> 00:01:00.920 We have all seen folk who at one time in their life they were on fire for God. 00:01:01.259 --> 00:01:03.899 They had a sense of peace about them every time you saw them. 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:08.180 They would engage in ministry with a sense of power and purpose. 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:10.719 And, boy, they were just on fire for God. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:14.819 And they never declared they didn't believe the things they used to believe. 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:20.279 They never did something necessary that took them way away from God or the church. 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:23.239 But you just look at their life years down the road, 00:01:23.619 --> 00:01:25.919 and they seem to be going through the motions. 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:27.079 They have no power. 00:01:27.199 --> 00:01:28.039 They have no peace. 00:01:28.699 --> 00:01:31.959 There doesn't seem to be a sense of purpose that directs their lives. 00:01:32.539 --> 00:01:34.519 And you just wonder sometimes, what happened? 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:37.019 Well, that happened in David's life. 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:38.939 We don't know how long a period of time it was. 00:01:39.339 --> 00:01:41.959 But here this man who had written psalms, who had fought giants, 00:01:42.039 --> 00:01:47.119 who had just been a soldier of the cross even before the cross had come yet, 00:01:47.579 --> 00:01:50.219 this man who was just a great warrior for God, 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:54.799 suddenly he just finds a low place spiritually in his life. 00:01:54.859 --> 00:01:59.259 And it was because not only the fact that he had committed adultery 00:01:59.259 --> 00:02:03.859 and then he had tried to cover it up by having her husband Uriah killed, 00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:09.780 but the fact that those things happened and he never dealt with them with God. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:11.800 He never repented of his sin. 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:13.840 He never confessed his sin to God. 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:16.240 He just covered everything up. 00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:19.979 And apparently he kept trying to go through all the motions that he had 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:23.599 previous to that point in time, but to no avail. 00:02:23.900 --> 00:02:26.479 He finally is confronted by Nathan the prophet. 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:29.520 Nathan points his finger in David's face and says, 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:33.400 David, the man that you just heard about, you are the man. 00:02:34.140 --> 00:02:36.200 And conviction just overwhelmed him. 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:41.340 And he ultimately wrote Psalm 51 that we looked at last week. 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:44.020 It is a gut-wrenching psalm. 00:02:44.140 --> 00:02:47.740 I mean, he pleads seven times in just a few verses for God, 00:02:47.940 --> 00:02:50.800 please cleanse me, blot out my transgressions, 00:02:50.940 --> 00:02:53.840 create a clean heart in me, make me whiter than soul. 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:58.540 He just begs God over and over and over again to do a spiritual work in his life. 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:01.400 He says, God, cast me not away from thy presence. 00:03:01.579 --> 00:03:04.439 Please restore to me the joy of my salvation. 00:03:04.859 --> 00:03:09.319 He wants to be in the same place he had previously been with God. 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:14.199 Then we close the service out with Psalm 139, looking at verse 23 and 24. 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:20.699 After David had said, God, you're omnipotent, you're omniscient, you're omnipresent, 00:03:20.899 --> 00:03:24.019 you see everything, you're everywhere, you know everything, you're all powerful. 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:28.200 He invites God to do a full-scale investigation of his life. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:30.840 And the reason I said the close of the service was, 00:03:31.260 --> 00:03:35.180 he never wants to go back to life the way it was in those dark days 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:39.379 when he hid sin in his life and he wasn't transparent with God. 00:03:39.700 --> 00:03:44.520 And you'll recall last week I told you that I wish this week you would pray that prayer. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.780 I'm trusting that many of you did that. 00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:52.120 Many of you prayed that same prayer that David prayed during the course of this last week. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:56.360 And you said, God, I want you to reveal sin in my life. 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:58.740 Anything that's there, I know you're aware of it. 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:00.759 I pray you would expose it. 00:04:00.980 --> 00:04:03.680 And that's where we find ourselves beginning this morning. 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:09.240 If we are going to deal with our sin as David dealt with his sin, how do we do that? 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:13.159 Baptists have a wrong idea about confession. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.759 I'm fearful in days to come, they'll write in the history books, 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:18.680 that there was an era in Baptist life. 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:24.199 We thought the way a person confessed their sin was to come forward and take a pastor by the hand 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:26.699 and say, preacher, I want to rededicate my life. 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:32.100 The pastor prayed, the person went back to their seat, and nothing ever changed. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:37.800 I want to tell you, that is not biblical confession at all. 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:42.460 This morning, if nothing else, I hope you leave, whether you confess your sin or don't, 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:48.259 at least with a clear understanding of here's what confession really looks like. 00:04:48.659 --> 00:04:50.099 Here's what it's all about. 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:51.899 Let's read together our verse. 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:55.359 Many of you could stand right now and quote this verse. 00:04:55.539 --> 00:04:57.560 In fact, they're probably putting it on the screen. 00:04:57.659 --> 00:04:58.479 I see it there now. 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:01.659 I want you not even to look at the screen. 00:05:02.359 --> 00:05:05.899 You might just drop your head or just look here at me and not focus on the screen. 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:11.019 And I want you to, in your mind, if you know this verse, and I know most of you probably do, 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.000 I want you to see how you would quote this verse. 00:05:14.179 --> 00:05:16.159 Would you quote it this way or a second way? 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:21.579 Would you say, if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:24.120 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:29.279 Or would you say, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.379 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:36.519 If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:41.939 Would you say the word sins plural or the word sin singular? 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:43.819 You ever thought about it? 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:48.719 Well, you've seen it on the screen now, so you know the answer is obviously the plural form, right? 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:54.719 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins 00:05:54.719 --> 00:05:58.719 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:03.040 Before we get into what it means to confess our sin, 00:06:03.580 --> 00:06:07.600 there are two key words in this text you need to understand clearly or you'll miss it. 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:10.140 The first is that word sins. 00:06:10.280 --> 00:06:15.880 What is the difference in sin singular and sins plural? 00:06:16.700 --> 00:06:20.640 When we talk theologically about the word sin in the singular, 00:06:21.500 --> 00:06:26.420 we're not talking about adultery or gossip or those kind of things. 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:31.520 When we use that word in the singular, we're talking about that rebellious spirit 00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:36.620 that man has toward God that keeps him apart from God. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:41.960 And I want to say to you, sin in the singular is what sends us to hell. 00:06:42.980 --> 00:06:46.900 Remember David in that psalm we looked at last week in Psalm 51? 00:06:47.280 --> 00:06:48.500 At one point David says, 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:51.700 Lord, in sin I was conceived. 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:53.379 What did he mean? 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:59.240 Did he mean the act of his mother and father coming together and his being conceived was a sinful act? 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:00.680 No, not at all. 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:02.240 There's nothing sinful about that at all. 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:05.680 Did he mean when he was first born, when he drew his first breath, 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.339 that he sinned immediately against God? 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:10.319 No, not at all. 00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:12.740 What David was saying is this, 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:15.740 I was born because of the sin of Adam and Eve. 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:19.819 All humanity has been born with a bent towards sin. 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.480 We have a sin nature. 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:25.399 And it's evidenced by our own experience. 00:07:25.540 --> 00:07:28.500 I don't even need the Bible to tell me in Romans 3.23, 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:30.819 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.319 In Romans 3.10, there is none righteous, no not one. 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:36.719 Because I know that from experience. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:39.259 Every human being I've ever met, 00:07:39.659 --> 00:07:40.579 they're all sinners. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:42.779 Every one of us in this room, 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:43.639 we're all sinners. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:44.860 We know that we are. 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:46.980 We readily admit that we are. 00:07:47.220 --> 00:07:51.160 The only one who has never sinned is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. 00:07:52.280 --> 00:07:55.439 Now, you have precious little kids at home and grandkids, right? 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:57.939 I'll promise you this is true. 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:02.240 You had to teach them social graces 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:05.100 to say thank you and to say welcome 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:07.960 and to say yes ma'am and no ma'am 00:08:07.960 --> 00:08:09.439 and yes sir and no sir 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.439 and all the rules of society 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:14.699 that allow us to get along with one another. 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:16.939 But there's not a parent in this room 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:18.379 who ever sat their child down and said, 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:21.319 now today, you're getting a little older now 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:23.160 and I need to give you a lesson on sin. 00:08:23.960 --> 00:08:25.860 I need to tell you how to be selfish. 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:29.460 I need to tell you how to want your own way. 00:08:30.220 --> 00:08:32.399 I need to teach you how to talk back. 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:34.659 Have you ever thought about, 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:36.019 where'd they learn those things? 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:37.980 You never said to them, 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:40.539 balk at something a parent or adult says. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.100 You never said to them, 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.940 hey, you need to be more selfish. 00:08:46.060 --> 00:08:46.840 You never said this. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:48.879 How is it they learned them? 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:49.519 You know how they learned? 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:50.540 The same thing David said. 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:52.800 They have a bent toward sin. 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:55.560 We have a sin nature. 00:08:56.259 --> 00:08:58.600 Every one of us in this room are sinners. 00:08:59.300 --> 00:09:02.620 So what's the difference in sin and sins? 00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:07.639 My sins are the outward, individual, personal ways 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:11.580 that that inner rebellious nature is expressed. 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:12.899 You get that? 00:09:13.740 --> 00:09:15.899 I'm a sinner because I have a sin nature. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.580 I want to say, God, not your way, my way. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:21.340 But the ways in which I act that out 00:09:21.340 --> 00:09:23.639 and flesh that out are different and unique, 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:25.039 person to person to person. 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:26.960 Let's just be real honest about it 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:28.259 and take the gloves off this morning. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:30.779 Some of you in this room have a problem with gossiping. 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:32.240 You know you do. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.259 The folks who run with you know you do. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:36.100 But that doesn't mean everybody does. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:39.720 Everybody at one time or another has gossiped. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.279 But not everyone is a habitual gossip. 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:43.379 But some of you are. 00:09:43.439 --> 00:09:44.159 That's your problem. 00:09:44.319 --> 00:09:45.600 That's a sticking point for you. 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.360 And some of you have explosive tempers. 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:50.939 And some of you, you don't like to admit it, 00:09:50.939 --> 00:09:51.740 but you're a flirt. 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:53.639 You call it just being friendly. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:54.559 But the truth of that is, 00:09:54.819 --> 00:09:55.939 you step over the line 00:09:55.940 --> 00:09:58.080 and you actually flirt with other folk 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:59.480 who you're not married to. 00:09:59.780 --> 00:10:01.740 Some of you have a problem with honesty. 00:10:02.860 --> 00:10:05.040 And those are our sins. 00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:06.280 You understand that? 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:09.480 My sin is my inward rebellion nature toward God. 00:10:09.800 --> 00:10:11.060 My sins are the ways in which 00:10:11.060 --> 00:10:14.000 I express that openly in my life. 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:15.440 File that away. 00:10:15.560 --> 00:10:17.540 Put it on the side of the table for just a moment. 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:18.820 Let's look at that second word. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.500 The second word is the word confess. 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:23.240 Confess. 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:23.680 Confess. 00:10:23.680 --> 00:10:26.680 In the Greek, it is a compound word. 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:28.539 Two words joined together. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:30.340 Homo legio. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:31.960 Now the word homo, 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:33.180 every person in this room, 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:34.360 12 years of age and older, 00:10:34.560 --> 00:10:35.080 you know it. 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:35.879 You know that prefix 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:38.379 because we talk about homosexuality 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:41.379 and we mean same sexual relationships, right? 00:10:41.860 --> 00:10:43.840 So the word homo means same. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:47.519 Legio, probably a lot of you don't recognize that word, 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:48.740 but you will in just a moment. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.299 If you teach Sunday school, 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:53.179 you see in your quarterlies in the month of December, 00:10:53.979 --> 00:10:55.419 John 1, 1 is often used 00:10:55.419 --> 00:10:58.459 and sometimes they'll put that Greek word in the quarterly 00:10:58.459 --> 00:10:59.500 and it'll say this, 00:10:59.859 --> 00:11:01.219 In the beginning was the logos 00:11:01.219 --> 00:11:02.759 and the logos was with God 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:03.899 and the logos was God 00:11:03.899 --> 00:11:05.539 and we know logos is the word. 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:08.179 When you take it out of its noun form 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:09.539 and put it in its verb form, 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:11.240 legio is to speak. 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:16.340 So what we have in homo legio is the same to speak 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:18.560 or to speak the same 00:11:18.560 --> 00:11:23.240 or more fluidly in our vernacular to agree with. 00:11:24.060 --> 00:11:26.180 That's what confession is. 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:30.340 Confession is nothing more nor anything less 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:32.480 than our coming to the place 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:37.539 we are in complete agreement with God about our sin. 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:39.819 When I look at Ralph Carter's sin, 00:11:39.899 --> 00:11:41.939 I see it exactly the way God sees it 00:11:41.939 --> 00:11:42.259 and I say, 00:11:42.319 --> 00:11:43.419 God, you are right. 00:11:44.099 --> 00:11:44.679 You're right. 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:45.419 I've been wrong. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:47.759 Everything you think about it is right. 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:49.539 Everything I think about it is wrong. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.620 That's what confession of sin means. 00:11:52.959 --> 00:11:54.459 So here's the big question. 00:11:55.899 --> 00:11:58.539 What does confession then of sin involve? 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:01.500 Four things I want to tell you 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:02.279 and I want to promise you, 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:02.980 you won't remember them. 00:12:03.339 --> 00:12:04.639 So if you got a sheet of paper and a pencil, 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:06.079 this will be worth your writing down. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:07.139 I seldom tell you that, 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:08.200 but I want to tell you today, 00:12:08.780 --> 00:12:09.639 these four things, 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:11.139 if you want to really deal with confession 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:11.920 in the days to come, 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:13.080 you ought to write them down. 00:12:13.160 --> 00:12:14.580 Here's the first thing it involves. 00:12:15.540 --> 00:12:17.600 I must recognize the point at which 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:20.820 I am sinning against God. 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:24.139 How can I agree with God 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:29.580 if I don't understand how I'm sinning against God? 00:12:30.300 --> 00:12:32.160 Now, I know what some of you are thinking, 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:33.900 let's get on to point two and three and four 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:36.319 because you see, you'd have to be a nut 00:12:36.319 --> 00:12:38.579 not to know when you sin against God. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:40.360 Sounds reasonable enough, 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:42.120 but can I just tell you the truth? 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:44.340 King David is much brighter 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:45.919 than probably any of us in this room. 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:48.399 He wrote many of the Psalms 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:51.679 and when Nathan came to David 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:54.139 and he began to tell him this crazy story 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:55.620 about this man who had the one lamb 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:57.559 and this rich man who had a lot of lambs 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:01.699 and this rich man has stolen this poor man's lamb 00:13:01.699 --> 00:13:03.279 and used it for his own purposes 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:04.799 and he's done him wrong. 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:06.179 I'm going to tell you something, 00:13:06.259 --> 00:13:07.979 if David had been very much of a thinking man 00:13:07.979 --> 00:13:08.799 at that point in time 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.159 and had been sensitive to his sin, 00:13:12.119 --> 00:13:13.079 guess what he had done? 00:13:13.459 --> 00:13:15.019 I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box, 00:13:15.099 --> 00:13:15.599 but I'm going to tell you, 00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:18.199 if I'd been there and I knew of David's sin 00:13:18.199 --> 00:13:19.619 and I'd overheard that conversation, 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:20.279 I'd been saying, 00:13:20.339 --> 00:13:21.759 David, somebody's been reading your mail. 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:25.460 I mean, he knows about you. 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:26.559 He's on to you, buddy. 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:30.179 And David is so just unaware 00:13:30.179 --> 00:13:31.700 when he gets through, 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:33.200 he's so visibly shaken. 00:13:33.299 --> 00:13:33.600 He says, 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:34.679 Who is that guy? 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:35.360 I'll punish him. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:36.740 And Nathan says, 00:13:36.819 --> 00:13:38.080 Well, it's you. 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:40.120 It's you. 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:41.879 Can I tell you something? 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:45.379 We can sin and so rationalize away our guilt 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:47.059 and so conceal our guilt 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:49.080 and suppress our guilt 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:51.740 that we pretty much convince ourselves 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:53.620 it never happened. 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:56.460 Or I'm justified and it happened. 00:13:57.180 --> 00:13:59.060 Or it wasn't so bad. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:02.799 And David, because he got away with it, 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:03.680 he pulled it off. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:04.639 He had Uriah killed. 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:05.799 Nobody was the wiser. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.620 Joab never spilled the beans on him. 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:10.200 Joab, David just thought, 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:12.580 Well, I've gotten away with this. 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.039 He was paying the price spiritually. 00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:16.799 He felt distant from God, 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:18.820 but he thought he had somehow pulled it off. 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:21.560 Now let me prove it to you experientially. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:23.779 I'm not going to do what I'd like to do, 00:14:23.899 --> 00:14:26.279 but you'll get the idea. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:28.919 If I walked out in the audience 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:30.139 and I looked at Robbie Stocks 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:30.419 and I said, 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:31.120 Robbie, you're a sinner. 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:33.600 You're not going to argue me over that 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.200 because he knows it, right? 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:36.139 And I know it. 00:14:36.180 --> 00:14:37.159 And you know it about Robbie, 00:14:37.220 --> 00:14:38.060 even though you just met him. 00:14:38.340 --> 00:14:39.159 If I said to Mark, 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:40.419 Okay, you're sinners. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.340 No problem with that. 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:44.500 I can go to anybody in this room today 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:44.899 and say, 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:46.360 You know what, y'all? 00:14:47.180 --> 00:14:47.860 They're a sinner. 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:48.700 Georgia's a sinner. 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:49.940 You don't get mad about that. 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:51.279 Nobody's going to get mad about it 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.379 because we all know it's obvious, right? 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:57.820 But if somebody were to walk up to you today 00:14:57.820 --> 00:14:59.100 and say, 00:14:59.240 --> 00:14:59.759 Whispering to you, 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:01.039 I don't want anybody else to hear this, 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:02.259 but just between me and you, 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:04.539 when he was talking about that person gossiping, 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:04.899 it's you. 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:08.360 You're a gossip. 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:11.139 Ooh, son. 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:12.779 That wouldn't go over so well, would it? 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.179 Or if I went out into the crowd and said, 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:16.000 Hey, you know what? 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:17.120 I don't want to embarrass you. 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:18.759 I don't say this to hurt your friends or anything, 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:20.240 but the women of the church have been coming to me 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:20.759 and telling me, 00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:21.720 You're a flirt. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:24.819 How do you think that would go over? 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:27.819 Or if somebody came up to you and said, 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:29.279 You know what he was saying today? 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:30.620 I just want to help you out here. 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:32.120 You're pretty stingy. 00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:32.659 You're greedy. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:34.580 You know that? 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:39.059 Or boy, you just are so negative all the time 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:40.700 and so critical and so backbiting. 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:44.580 You see, the way we like to pray is this. 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:47.480 Lord, forgive me of my sins and my shortcomings. 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:49.820 Okay, now pass the potatoes. 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:52.300 Right? 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.080 You think that's what he's talking about 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:56.039 when he says confession? 00:15:57.399 --> 00:15:58.539 No, what he's talking about is this. 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:00.700 When I get mad at my wife and say something to my wife, 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:04.120 well, I better fall on my face before God 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:05.800 and say, God, here's what I said. 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:08.279 And the reason I said it is because I'm arrogant 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:09.180 and I'm impatient. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.680 And I analyze that and I see it 00:16:11.680 --> 00:16:13.440 just the way God sees it. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:18.820 That's what real confession looks like. 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:21.620 So I first got to realize the point 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:23.980 at which I'm sinning against God. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:25.240 I want to tell you, 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:27.600 that's the reason I asked you to pray that prayer last week 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:29.580 and all this week because I'll tell you something. 00:16:29.880 --> 00:16:30.820 I've done that before. 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:32.700 When I pray that prayer and I say, 00:16:32.760 --> 00:16:34.420 God, I don't want to know the truth about me. 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:37.419 I know I tend to rationalize away my guilt 00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:39.000 and I tend to suppress my guilt 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:42.099 and I tend to find a reason why I did what I did. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.139 But I want you to expose sin in my life. 00:16:44.219 --> 00:16:44.659 I'm going to tell you something. 00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:46.139 God will always oblige you. 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:48.719 The Holy Spirit of God will always come 00:16:48.719 --> 00:16:50.819 and he'll penetrate the inner recesses of your heart 00:16:50.819 --> 00:16:53.699 and he'll expose everything about you that's not right. 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:56.839 Secondly, confession is best done 00:16:56.839 --> 00:17:01.079 by verbally, orally saying it aloud to God. 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:03.840 Now, I don't make too much of this, 00:17:04.840 --> 00:17:08.840 but the word homologo means to speak the same. 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:11.259 I want to be real clear. 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:13.620 Do you have to verbally say it to God? 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:13.960 No. 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:15.620 And you know why. 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:18.460 Because God knows everything 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:22.440 and the moment I feel contrition in my heart for my sin 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:24.799 and repentant spirit for my sin, 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:26.680 before my lips ever move, 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:28.039 before the first word is ever said, 00:17:28.360 --> 00:17:30.559 God sees it, knows it, and he forgives me. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:31.659 You understand that? 00:17:32.659 --> 00:17:35.359 He doesn't forgive me the moment I say that word out loud. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:36.740 I don't want to confuse you about that. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.759 He forgives me the moment I feel repentance in my heart 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:42.079 before I ever step out of an aisle 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.159 and walk forward before I ever fall on my knees. 00:17:44.819 --> 00:17:45.759 God sees my heart. 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:47.139 He forgives me instantly. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:48.679 But here's the trick. 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:54.039 Sometimes, in the absence of our hearing ourselves say it, 00:17:54.899 --> 00:17:57.940 we have difficulty remembering that God did forgive us. 00:17:57.940 --> 00:18:02.279 psychologists recognize years and years and years ago, 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:07.480 there's something therapeutic about somebody telling somebody else about their sins. 00:18:08.840 --> 00:18:12.400 That's the reason so many people spend thousands of dollars 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:17.500 sitting in a shrink's office telling them about what's going on in their life. 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:20.880 Because there's something therapeutic about getting that out 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:24.339 and getting it out in the open and seeing it and dealing with it. 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:27.480 Years ago, when I pastored in Statesville, 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:32.299 one of the godliest ladies I ever knew in my life 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:34.319 was a member of our church. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:36.740 She was about 15 years older than I was. 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:38.839 Two daughters and a son. 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.259 She gets cancer and she's dying. 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:46.220 This lady had been in discipleship groups I'd been a part of. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:48.279 Just a wonderful, sweet lady. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:50.160 One of the godliest ladies, me and my wife, 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.539 and everybody agreed, one of the godliest ladies you ever meet. 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:54.960 But have you ever met folk that every time you're around, 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:57.500 you can just tell they had this thing about them 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.579 that they feel like a second-class citizen? 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:02.619 They always walk with their head a little bit hung. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:05.480 You can just tell they don't have a good self. 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:06.980 They just don't feel good about themselves. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:09.700 And I never could figure it out because she was so godly. 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:12.080 She calls me one day. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.720 She's in the latter stages of her cancer. 00:19:13.860 --> 00:19:15.779 She's a patient at Iredale Memorial Hospital. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.940 It's about a minute and a half, two minutes from where I worked at the church. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:23.600 She calls me and she's in tears and she says, 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:25.160 Pastor, I need to see you real bad. 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:25.740 Could you come? 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:27.680 I'll be there in about 10 minutes. 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:31.039 Got in my car, took off, went to the hospital, walked into her room. 00:19:31.580 --> 00:19:32.720 She said, will you shut the door? 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:33.480 I shut the door. 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:36.819 She says, I don't know how to tell you this. 00:19:36.860 --> 00:19:39.059 I'm so ashamed, but I've got to get this off my conscience. 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:43.059 And she began to tell me that when she was about 18 years of age, 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:45.059 she was dating this man that was once her husband. 00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:47.639 At that point, they were still dating. 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:50.539 He pressured her into having sex. 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:52.399 She kept saying no. 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:53.619 He kept saying yes. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.200 She was fearful she would lose him, and she gave in to his desires. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:01.580 And she said, ever since that time, I felt so filthy. 00:20:02.620 --> 00:20:06.279 And it doesn't matter how much I serve the Lord, I always feel like I come up short. 00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:09.000 And I said, have you talked to God about that? 00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:13.480 She says, well, yeah, in my mind, in my heart, I've told God how sorry I am. 00:20:13.620 --> 00:20:14.920 And obviously she had. 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.039 Do I believe God had forgiven her previously? 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.799 I said, yeah, I do believe he had way, way, way back right after it happened. 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:28.579 I said to her, going out on a limb, have you ever told anybody other than me this? 00:20:28.639 --> 00:20:29.359 She said, never. 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:34.639 Have you ever spoken those words of repentance to God out loud where God could hear them, 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:37.079 where you knew God heard them because you said them? 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:40.700 No, I just felt like that would be too shameful to say. 00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:42.759 I said, can I ask you to do something? 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:46.500 Right here in this hospital bed, just me and you, if you need me to, I'll step outside. 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:50.299 Would you just have a conversation with God where you spoke verbally with God 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.880 and you just told God what you just told me? 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:55.740 And she said, I'd be glad to him. 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:58.799 Before I could say anything, to my surprise, this lady is dying. 00:20:59.099 --> 00:21:01.599 She gets out of the bed on her knees in the hospital room 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:07.339 and she begins to pray and to cry and to tell God how ashamed she was. 00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:11.339 And as soon as she finished, she got up off her knees and got back to bed. 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:11.960 And I'm going to tell you something. 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:14.599 You could take one look at her face and know, 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:16.799 boy, God had just done her work. 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:19.980 She had just had that burden lifted off her shoulders. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:22.399 I'm telling you something. 00:21:22.459 --> 00:21:25.299 You'll never surprise God with anything you ever say to Him. 00:21:26.219 --> 00:21:26.939 Do you understand that? 00:21:27.159 --> 00:21:29.619 There are things you shouldn't confess publicly. 00:21:29.939 --> 00:21:33.539 There are things you shouldn't say to your wife, to your husband, to your friends, to your pastor. 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:39.519 But my dear friend, if you want to be clean with God and you want to feel His forgiveness, 00:21:40.639 --> 00:21:41.659 have that conversation. 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:42.960 Get alone in the woods. 00:21:43.399 --> 00:21:44.700 Find a closet somewhere. 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:50.339 Just say, God, I need to talk to you about this and openly tell Him those things in your life 00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:54.059 that you know are keeping you from having fellowship with God today. 00:21:54.059 --> 00:22:02.700 Thirdly, it means I must come to the place that I feel about my sin the way God feels about my sin. 00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:05.079 Now, this is really important. 00:22:06.099 --> 00:22:10.899 So long as you hold on to any bit of that sin in your life and think, 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.079 well, you know, it was wrong and I shouldn't have done it, 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:16.619 but you've never agreed with God. 00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:21.819 Because the only way God is ever going to agree with you is when you come completely to His side 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:25.439 and see the horrible nature of what you've just done. 00:22:26.139 --> 00:22:26.879 Do you understand that? 00:22:27.419 --> 00:22:28.539 Here's how I know that. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:30.799 Four verses before this verse. 00:22:30.959 --> 00:22:33.119 In 1 John 1.5, here's what it says. 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:35.399 Just look up and listen as I'm going to quote it to you. 00:22:36.199 --> 00:22:38.539 God is light. 00:22:39.479 --> 00:22:40.619 That's John's testimony. 00:22:41.479 --> 00:22:43.439 He says, God is light. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:47.320 And in Him, English teachers, close your ears, 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:51.259 there is no none darkness at all. 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:54.400 If you read the Greek word for it, that's what it says. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:56.480 We translate it rightly. 00:22:57.900 --> 00:22:59.840 God is light and in Him is no darkness. 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:07.440 But literally it says, God is light and in Him is no none darkness at all. 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:08.299 You know what he's saying? 00:23:09.340 --> 00:23:12.559 Greek language allows you to do that for the sake of emphasis. 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:17.759 He's saying, listen, you can look at the whole fabric of God's being and He is perfect light. 00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:19.339 That's so different from you and I. 00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:23.179 We like to think that we're mostly light and a little bit of darkness. 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:26.879 But the truth is, we're a whole lot of darkness with a few specks of light. 00:23:27.700 --> 00:23:29.019 Would you agree with that? 00:23:30.399 --> 00:23:33.379 We're a whole lot of darkness with a few specks here and there of light. 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:34.940 A ray occasionally of light. 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:36.240 But I want to tell you something with God. 00:23:36.639 --> 00:23:37.740 He is complete light. 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:40.359 And you can take a magnifying glass and look all over His being. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:44.099 And you won't find one trace of darkness anywhere in the nature of God. 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:47.259 That's why your sin is so atrocious to Him. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:49.279 That's why my sin is so offensive to Him. 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:51.400 It nailed His Son to the cross. 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:54.359 So as long as you say, well, I sinned but my wife. 00:23:54.620 --> 00:23:54.920 No. 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:56.859 Well, I sinned but my boss. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:57.359 No. 00:23:58.359 --> 00:23:59.660 It's either sin or it's not. 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:02.000 You're either wrong or you're in the right. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.359 And that's the only place God will ever allow you to be. 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:13.579 Thirdly, or fourthly rather, finally, it means I must not be willing to repent. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:14.259 Are you listening? 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:17.079 But I must repent of my sin. 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:19.839 I've got to be honest with you. 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:21.400 I've even heard preachers say this. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:24.660 I can't believe I want to hear it, but I've heard them say it. 00:24:26.019 --> 00:24:27.579 You've got to be willing to repent. 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:28.380 No, you don't. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:31.720 You've got to repent of your sin. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.680 It don't matter if you're willing or not. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:36.380 You've got to repent of your sin. 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:39.880 There is command in the military. 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:41.400 My dad spent 20 years in the Army. 00:24:42.299 --> 00:24:44.720 Was a drill instructor much of that time. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:49.559 And there's command in the Army that teach young soldiers it's about faith. 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:50.480 You know that command. 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:56.539 And a lot of preachers have mistakenly said that repentance is like about faith. 00:24:56.539 --> 00:24:57.779 I'm looking in this direction. 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:00.400 The order is given about faith. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:04.259 And I turn and I'm looking 180 degrees in a different direction. 00:25:05.360 --> 00:25:06.720 That is not repentance. 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:12.280 There is a command in the military that is indicative of repentance. 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:13.040 You know what it is? 00:25:13.580 --> 00:25:15.080 To the rear march. 00:25:15.580 --> 00:25:16.200 Watch this. 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:18.660 I'm marching in one direction. 00:25:19.080 --> 00:25:21.060 And suddenly that order is issued. 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:22.580 And I stop and turn. 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.500 And I'm now walking in a new direction. 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:27.599 I can about faith but go nowhere. 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:29.420 Watch this. 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:32.900 If I am told about faith and I do this. 00:25:33.660 --> 00:25:35.700 I'm looking in a new direction but I haven't moved anywhere. 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:39.660 And that's what a lot of people think about repentance. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:42.480 Is that you just turn and you begin to think differently. 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:43.700 And you look in a new direction. 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:46.400 But you don't go anywhere other than where you already were. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:48.620 That's not repentance. 00:25:49.340 --> 00:25:53.980 Repentance is when I have a change of mind and heart that results in a change of action. 00:25:54.340 --> 00:25:55.600 And I turn and go in a new direction. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:01.140 My daughter Ansela who got married two days ago became a Christian when she was about eight years of age. 00:26:02.280 --> 00:26:04.040 One night after Sunday night service. 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:06.519 I don't even have a clue what I preached on. 00:26:06.639 --> 00:26:08.299 But I got in one car with her. 00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:08.920 And she got. 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:10.720 Or my son got in the car with his mom. 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:11.899 And we headed to our home. 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:14.019 And on the way home. 00:26:14.379 --> 00:26:16.119 We pulled up to this red light at Ray Street. 00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:16.940 I'll never forget it. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:17.879 In Statesville, North Carolina. 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:20.139 And big tears are streaming down her face. 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:22.200 And I said, baby, what's wrong? 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:24.319 And she said, Betty, when you were preaching. 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:25.980 I thought about something I've done in school. 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:27.759 She was about fifth grade, fourth grade. 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:30.980 She said, I thought about this thing I did in school. 00:26:31.259 --> 00:26:34.019 And I just sinned against God. 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:36.579 And she just boohooed in the car. 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:37.980 We got to the house. 00:26:38.139 --> 00:26:40.619 And I knew when we went inside, it would be wild with my little boy there. 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:44.379 And so I said, how would you like to just take care of that thing right here in the car? 00:26:45.399 --> 00:26:46.680 And she said, that'd be good. 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.639 So she prayed. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:50.539 I said, just tell God what you told me. 00:26:50.819 --> 00:26:52.440 And she talked to God about it. 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:55.960 And when she got to the end of the prayer, it's been 40 years. 00:26:56.059 --> 00:26:56.940 I've never forgotten this. 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:01.059 She said, Lord, I want you to know I'm so sorry for what I've done. 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:03.519 And I ain't never going to sin against you again. 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:08.480 We got out and went in the house. 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:12.639 Next day at lunch, I'm with this buddy of mine, another pastor. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:14.299 Name is Bill. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:16.480 We're sitting there at the table eating lunch. 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:17.399 And it comes to my mind. 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:18.319 And I share it with Bill. 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:18.480 Bill. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:23.099 And I said, Bill, guess what I need to do to let us know. 00:27:23.159 --> 00:27:24.740 And I told him that whole thing I just told you. 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:29.159 He looks at me and he says, did you correct her? 00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:31.720 No. 00:27:33.179 --> 00:27:36.240 You didn't tell her that she's not going to be able to live in sinless perfection? 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:36.880 No. 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:37.240 No. 00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:37.799 No. 00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:40.059 Why didn't you tell her? 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:41.700 You know she's going to sin again. 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:42.579 Yeah, I know she is. 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:45.740 But I don't want her to think that that's a given. 00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:56.559 And I don't want her to think that that's an acceptable way to live. 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:59.519 You understand that? 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:05.299 When we repent, we ought to have it in our mind whether it ever happens or not. 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:07.819 God, I'm never going there again. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.019 I'm going to walk in a new light. 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:13.960 I'm going to live differently from this day forward. 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:20.599 If you don't have that intention, you have not really repented of your sin. 00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:23.319 Now, I'm bringing it all to a close. 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:28.439 You say, preacher, that's not like just walking forward and shaking a preacher by the hand. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:29.259 No, it's not. 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:29.980 It's not. 00:28:30.919 --> 00:28:32.139 I've got to be honest with you. 00:28:32.159 --> 00:28:33.619 What I'm talking about is grueling. 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:35.460 You can't do it at three minutes at an altar. 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:38.059 It's going to take you some time. 00:28:38.639 --> 00:28:39.599 It's gut-wrenching. 00:28:41.179 --> 00:28:42.720 But I'm going to tell you why it's worthwhile. 00:28:44.619 --> 00:28:49.079 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just. 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:50.460 You hear that? 00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:53.059 Faithful and just. 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:55.579 To forgive us of our sins. 00:28:55.799 --> 00:29:00.019 And to, get this, cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:01.859 Well, I'm going to tell you something. 00:29:02.700 --> 00:29:04.700 Nothing like a great spiritual bath, is there? 00:29:05.659 --> 00:29:06.639 You ever had one before? 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:08.639 Where you just washed it clean? 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:10.119 Get a fresh new start? 00:29:11.939 --> 00:29:12.980 Isn't forgiveness great? 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:17.720 I could tell you story after story in my life where people have forgiven me. 00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:20.759 Where I've done atrocious things and horrible things to hurt them. 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:25.879 And I get up my courage and I go and I say, would you forgive me? 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:29.519 And you can look in their face and tell when they really do and when they really are not sure. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:37.740 I can remember my dad and my mom and my wife and my kids and friends who through the years I've offended somehow. 00:29:38.059 --> 00:29:39.779 I didn't necessarily mean to, but I did. 00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:42.680 And I've gone back and I've just said, would you forgive me? 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:43.700 I'm sorry I didn't mean to say. 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:47.640 And boy, when you look in their eyes and you just know, they really did forgive me. 00:29:48.600 --> 00:29:49.740 We're good to go now. 00:29:50.080 --> 00:29:51.080 It's okay again. 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:53.600 Boy, what a great feeling that is. 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:54.180 I'm going to tell you something. 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:56.860 It sure beats the fire out of playing church. 00:29:58.440 --> 00:30:03.080 It sure beats the fire out of taking a preacher by the hand and saying, would you pray for me to really like it in my life? 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:05.120 It's gut-wrenching. 00:30:05.840 --> 00:30:06.680 It's grueling. 00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:16.240 But the payoff, goodness, how wonderful it is to walk out of this room and know I am right with the Almighty God. 00:30:17.600 --> 00:30:18.700 Do you know that today? 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:24.120 If not, Robbie's going to lead us right now in a hymn, just as I am, without one plea. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:28.580 But that thy blood was shed for thee, Lamb of God, I come. 00:30:30.660 --> 00:30:35.840 Would you, whether you come forward or right there in your seat, maybe you just need to stay seated. 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.220 Would you begin a conversation with God? 00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:41.880 Listen, even in a whispered tone, begin to talk to God about your sin. 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:42.680 Would you do that? 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:45.360 Those who will stand, stand. 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:47.380 Those who need to sit and pray, you do that. 00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:48.960 Whatever you need to do, if you need to come. 00:30:49.620 --> 00:30:53.580 We're going to sing just two or three verses of this just to give you a chance to begin that process 00:30:53.580 --> 00:30:56.460 of working through your confession with God. 00:30:57.400 --> 00:30:58.660 Let's stand as we do that. 00:30:58.660 --> 00:30:58.680 Let's stand as we do that.