Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: PHP
Program Code: PHP000007
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Do you ever have a guilty conscience before God? 00:06 Join us today on Pressing into His Presence 00:09 as we consider how confession 00:11 is the clearing house of the conscience. 00:35 Welcome to Pressing into His Presence. 00:37 This is a series to teach us 00:40 how to have greater intimacy in prayer. 00:44 If you're using our companion book 00:46 Pressing into His Presence, 00:47 we are staring today on page 56. 00:51 Now on our last program we had reviewed 00:54 the five step process of repentance 00:57 and considered the anatomy of sin. 00:59 I believe that you're going to enjoy 01:01 today's teaching on confession. 01:05 But first before we get into the joyful part of this, 01:08 I want to comment on eight scriptures 01:11 that served as a wakeup call to me 01:14 in recognizing my own sin and made me 01:17 appreciate even more how much I needed a savior. 01:21 And why confession is so important 01:24 to clear our conscience before God? 01:27 So let's look at those eight scriptures. 01:30 1 John 3:4 says, "Whoever commits sin 01:35 also commits lawlessness and sin is lawlessness." 01:42 You know, John relates all sin to the breaking of God's law. 01:47 Now the original Greek here translated, 01:50 commits lawlessness means to commit an iniquity 01:54 and that means an intentional 01:56 or unintentional offence against God's law. 02:00 Oh, no, that's alarming. 02:02 Even unintentional offences are included as iniquity. 02:07 Now our second verse to consider is 1 John 5:17 02:12 and that simply says, "All unrighteousness is sin." 02:17 Anything that we do that deviates from God's holy 02:20 and righteous character is counted a sin. 02:24 Now mercy, I knew I missed the mark 02:26 but that sounded somewhat mild, 02:28 this one however nailed me to the heart. 02:31 It strikes me that this scripture can convict us all. 02:35 Now our third scripture is Hebrews 3:19 and this says, 02:41 "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.'' 02:48 Unbelief is the sin that shut the Israelites 02:52 out of the Promised Land. 02:54 How often have we doubted a promise of God? 02:57 To doubt God's testimony is to regard Him as a liar. 03:02 No wonder it's impossible to please God without faith. 03:07 Now our fourth reference and-- 03:08 we're gonna get into the good part 03:10 here in a minute but we've got to see our own sin. 03:14 Our fourth reference is Matthew 12:36, 37, 03:18 where Jesus said, "I say to you 03:21 that for every idle word men may speak, 03:23 they will give account of it on the day of judgment. 03:27 For by your words you will be justified 03:30 and by your words will you be condemned." 03:33 Now Jesus presents His solemn thought 03:36 after He previously explained that the words 03:39 from our mouth revealed the condition 03:41 of our heart and our character. 03:44 Truly the tongue has the power of spiritual life or death. 03:50 Now going on our fifth reference is James 4:17 03:54 and it says, "To him who knows to do good 03:58 and does not do it, to him it is sin." 04:02 When James weighs in on this matter of sin, 04:06 he is tipping the scale toward sins of omission. 04:12 Not things that we do but things that we don't do. 04:15 And then the sixth scripture is Romans 14:23 04:19 where Paul adds, "Whatever is not from faith is sin." 04:24 We're sinning when we are uncertain 04:26 that God approves of an action but decide to do it anyway. 04:32 The seventh scripture is Proverbs 24:9, 04:36 which says, "The devising of foolishness is sin." 04:42 Perverse silliness is sin. 04:45 So the next time someone shares 04:47 one of those naughty little jokes with you, 04:49 stifle your laughter because if you don't 04:53 you're demonstrating approval of the impure 04:56 and you stand equally guilty of sin. 04:59 And our final reference 05:00 as we try to define sin is Jeremiah 4:14, 05:06 which says, "Wash your hearts from wickedness, 05:10 that you may be saved. 05:12 How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?" 05:18 Thoughts of wickedness and iniquity, 05:21 thoughts of breaking God's law are sin. 05:24 Oh, mercy. 05:26 Now that last scripture 05:27 is where the rubber meets the road. 05:29 Even our thought life can taint us with sin. 05:32 Actually according to Christ reckoning, 05:35 the thought is the sin 05:38 and the action is the fruit of the sin. 05:41 I mentioned in an earlier program 05:43 something that we share in common with King David 05:46 and that is being judgmental of others 05:48 while turning a blind eye to our own faults. 05:51 Perhaps we think we're better than David 05:53 because we've not committed adultery 05:56 or murder, or have we? 05:59 To Jesus thoughts of lust are the sin, 06:04 adultery is the fruit of the sin. 06:07 To Jesus thoughts of hatred are equal to heart murder. 06:12 The act of taking someone's life is merely 06:14 what grows out of an unclean heart. 06:18 Well, there is more to the sin study 06:20 but surely our consciences have been pricked enough. 06:25 Considering God's viewpoint, 06:27 is it safe to say that we are steeped in sin? 06:31 We may have grownup in church 06:33 and thought we didn't need much saving 06:35 because we were such good people. 06:38 But now the blinders are off, 06:40 we see how much we need Jesus. 06:43 And I pray that we will be less judgmental of others 06:45 knowing how crushing our own sin burden is. 06:50 It's time to cry out to our Heavenly Father for mercy. 06:54 And we can take heart 06:56 in the message of Micah Chapter 7, 07:00 and we'll look at verses 18 and 19. 07:03 I love this passage. 07:06 Micah says, "Who is a God like You, 07:11 pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression 07:15 of the remnant of His heritage? 07:17 He does not retain His anger forever, 07:21 because He delights in mercy. 07:24 He will again have compassion on us, 07:27 and will subdue our iniquities. 07:30 Oh, you will cast all of our sins 07:34 into the depths of the sea." 07:36 Hallelujah. 07:38 You know, for someone 07:40 who once thought that she was so good. 07:42 I have come to appreciate the great number of sins 07:45 that God must cast from me into the depths of the sea. 07:50 With extreme grace He wipes out the tremendous 07:55 and inescapable debt that I owe. 07:58 It makes me love Him ever more. 08:01 In Luke 7 and I believe it's 36 through 50, 08:05 Jesus told a judgmental Pharisee, 08:08 the story of a certain creditor who had two debtors, 08:11 one owed a little, the other a lot 08:13 and neither could pay what they owed. 08:16 The creditor freely forgave both debts. 08:19 Turning to the Pharisee Jesus asked, 08:21 "Which of the two men would love the creditor more?" 08:25 And the Pharisee rightly assumed 08:27 that the one who was forgiven more. 08:30 Jesus related the story in reference to a woman 08:33 of ill repute who was washing his feet with her tears 08:37 and anointing them with a fragrant oil 08:40 from an alabaster box. 08:42 And here is the punch line of Christ story. 08:46 The self righteous Pharisee who recoiled 08:49 at the act of the weeping woman, 08:52 he loved Jesus very little. 08:54 He had not recognized his debt of sin. 08:58 However the woman who had once been filled 09:01 with unspeakable shame and the sins of unutterable, 09:07 unworthiness, knew what Christ had done 09:11 in forgiving her great sin debt. 09:13 She simply could not contain 09:16 her overflowing love for the Savior. 09:19 And Christ concluded in one of my favorite scriptures, 09:23 Luke 7:47, it says, "Therefore I say to you, 09:27 her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much. 09:32 But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." 09:36 You know, the closer that I press 09:39 into the presence of our holy and righteous Father, 09:42 the more I recognize how sin tainted, I am. 09:47 A better understating of his "sin catalog" 09:52 has brought me to a greater appreciation 09:55 of my massive debt erase by him 09:58 and I love Him all of the more for it. 10:02 Romans 3:23 tells us, 10:06 "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." 10:16 When we think about this 10:18 in the Greek, in the original language, 10:22 the phrase for falling short represents a continuous action. 10:28 In other words what Paul was saying is, 10:31 we all keep falling short of the glory of God. 10:35 What is His glory? It's His character. 10:37 I know that I fall short of His character every day. 10:41 How about you? 10:42 Doesn't it seem logical then that 10:45 we should repent of our sins daily? 10:50 Rejoice in the recognition of your sin debt. 10:53 God delights in mercy 10:55 and He stands ready to forgive you. 10:58 His heart beats with pity for the penitent sinner. 11:03 He will not leave you with your head hanging low. 11:06 The greater your debt wiped out by Him, 11:10 the more you will love Him, hallelujah. 11:14 For many years, I have traveled extensively in ministry 11:19 and interacted with thousands of people literally, 11:22 following speaking engagements. 11:24 And as you might guess 11:26 I can't remember all of those encounters 11:28 but I vividly recall a young man 11:31 who chastised me in the year 2000, 11:34 for commending on my need of daily repentance. 11:37 He said to me, "You don't understand grace, 11:40 it's not necessary to confess your sins 11:42 after you've accepted Christ as your savior. 11:45 Jesus has paid the price for it all, 11:47 past, present and future." 11:49 Now I agreed with him about the sufficiency 11:52 of Christ sacrifice to cover the penalty of all sins. 11:56 And I tried to explain how sin separates, 12:00 even the people of God from him. 12:04 God shuts His ears to the unrepentant sinner. 12:08 He requires that we acknowledge our offenses toward Him. 12:13 He actually says in Hosea 5:15, 12:19 "I will return again to My place 12:23 till they acknowledge their offense. 12:25 Then they will seek My face, 12:28 in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." 12:35 I shared this story with him and I shared with him the story 12:39 of the Apostle Peter at the last supper. 12:42 The impetuous disciple 12:44 did not want to have his feet washed 12:46 until Christ explained that if you did not allow it, 12:50 he could have no part in him. 12:52 Peter was suddenly eager for more than a foot washing 12:55 but Jesus said to him in John 13:10, 12:59 "He who is bath needs only to wash his feet." 13:03 The spiritual application of the story is evident. 13:07 Peter had already received spiritual cleansing. 13:10 He had not dirtied his entire 13:13 being by turning away from the Lord 13:15 and back to the sewage of the royal septic system. 13:18 Still in his daily walk he was not without sin, 13:23 his soiled spiritual feet needed washing 13:28 representing confession of sin in repentance. 13:34 You know the confession of a child 13:37 differs from that of a criminal. 13:39 A criminal might confess his sin merely 13:42 for the reduction of the sin that's against him. 13:45 But the child confesses because the wrong 13:47 he has done bring sorrow 13:49 and a sins of separation from his loving parent. 13:54 As children of God 13:56 when we acknowledge our sins before Him 13:58 and can draw near to our Holy Father 14:01 without feelings of condemnation 14:04 that we know that confession has cleared us. 14:08 Once again this correlates with the sanctuary 14:12 saying that we have been weaving 14:14 into the series on prayer. 14:16 You see before the priest could enter into the holy place 14:19 they were required to purify themselves 14:23 or they dare not enter. 14:25 They had to wash their hands 14:26 and their feet in the laver in the outer court 14:29 which we will explore in the next program. 14:32 But back to my fellow 14:34 because I didn't finished that story. 14:37 As vigorously as I defended the need 14:39 for a continuous attitude of repentance, 14:43 this young man would not budge from his belief. 14:46 Somewhere in the past either he had received 14:50 an erroneous teaching that cheapened 14:52 the value of confession or he had forgotten 14:56 how to be sorry for his sins. 14:58 The Bible tells us in 1 John 1:8-9. 15:02 "If we say that we have no sin, 15:06 we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 15:10 If however we confess our sins, 15:13 He, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 15:19 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'' 15:23 Apostle John here offers believers 15:26 the sheer word of forgiveness 15:29 that results from our confession. 15:31 Now he uses the present active condition of the verb confess. 15:36 That means what John was actually saying is, 15:39 if we keep on confessing our sin 15:42 God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. 15:46 Confession of sin is stressed in the Old Testament 15:49 and it is urged throughout the new. 15:52 Please never become callous to the act of confession. 15:57 It is the clearing house of the conscience. 16:01 It is the prescribed manner for allowing God to purify us 16:07 and it results in the renewal 16:09 of a robust relationship with the Lord. 16:12 Are you miserable in your sin? 16:14 Confession in prayer is the place 16:17 where misery meets mercy. 16:20 Bring your sins into his light, 16:22 you'll not be telling him anything 16:24 he doesn't already know. 16:26 As Hosea 14:1-2 say, "Return to the Lord your God, 16:32 for you have stumbled because of your iniquity, 16:36 take words with you, and return to the Lord. 16:41 Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity, 16:45 receive us graciously.'' 16:47 Take words with you, words of confession. 16:51 Now look at God's response 16:54 in Hosea 14:4 to those who do this. 16:58 God says, 'I will heal their backsliding, 17:01 I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away." 17:06 Oh, aren't we thankful for the promise of 1 John 1:7, 17:10 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, 17:13 the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." 17:18 Christ blood shed at the Calvary 17:21 covers our confessed sins, hallelujah. 17:25 This is how God cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 17:28 His grace changes us from a polluted state 17:33 to a purified condition giving us clean hands 17:36 and a pure heart that we may enjoy 17:39 the privilege of pressing into his presence. 17:42 We're no longer wandering around 17:43 in the wilderness of sin, avoiding the God who loves us. 17:49 His mercy wipes away our misery causing us to believe that 17:53 we are accepted in the beloved Son. 17:57 Earlier in the series we considered 18:00 King David's fall from grace, 18:02 this is after the Bathsheba incident. 18:06 And now let's look at his reaction 18:09 to Nathan's accusation. 18:11 You are the man. 18:13 You know, a hardheaded prideful king 18:16 could have done away with Nathan's head. 18:18 But with eyes opened to his lawlessness 18:22 David exclaimed to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. 18:27 David was seized by remorse. 18:30 He confessed his sin against God and he repented. 18:33 And you can read his intense record of confession 18:36 on this occasion in Psalm 51. 18:39 This is the model that I first used 18:42 to learn to confess my sins. 18:45 Now I want to read you an exert 18:48 if I could from one of my first prayer journals 18:52 and if you remember I was... 18:54 writing my prayers at this time. 18:57 And it contains part of Psalm 51 19:00 paraphrased in my own words. 19:02 Here's what I wrote, "Have mercy upon me, Father, 19:06 according to Your loving kindness 19:07 blot out my sins according to the multitudes 19:11 of Your tender mercies. 19:13 Wash me thoroughly and repeatedly 19:14 in the blood of Jesus. 19:15 Take away my iniquity and cleanse me from sin. 19:19 I have sinned against You and done evil in Your sight, 19:21 please forgive me, Father. 19:23 Purge my sins and I shall be clean, 19:25 wash me, Lord, and I shall be white than snow. 19:28 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 19:32 Oh, Father, create in me a clean heart, 19:34 renew a steadfast spirit within me. 19:37 Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 19:39 Do not cast me away from Your presence. 19:42 Restore to me the joy of my salvation. 19:45 And uphold me by your precious Holy Spirit, 19:48 then help me to teach transgressors Your ways. 19:52 So that they will also turn to You for life. 19:54 Deliver me from guilt, Lord, and I 19:56 will speak forth Your praise. 19:59 I bring my sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, 20:03 You only desire that I should confess my sins 20:05 and turn back to You, here I am, Lord, 20:08 I am ready to return to You. 20:12 Help me, Father. 20:13 Thank you for forgiveness of my sins." 20:17 Like David when the stumbling blocks of sin have tripped us 20:21 and send us skating down the slippery slope, 20:24 we should humble ourselves and confess our sins. 20:28 Although our acts maybe directed against others, 20:31 we should recognize that every sin 20:33 is against our holy and righteous Father, 20:36 the creator of all things. 20:38 Did you know constant awareness 20:40 of our absolute dependence upon God is required. 20:46 He alone is able to keep our foot from slipping. 20:50 If we try to walk God's narrow path of life 20:54 without clinging to His hands so to speak, 20:58 we are incapable of preventing our fall. 21:02 Now David had a heart for the Lord 21:04 and he was sensitive to sin 21:06 which makes his failures even more glaringly alarming. 21:11 I'm going to borrow one more thing 21:12 from David's journal to share with you now. 21:15 This is something to consider 21:17 as you confess your sins and seek forgiveness. 21:20 It's his words in Psalm 19:12-14. 21:26 Now it's something good for us to pray. 21:29 David wrote, "Clear me from hidden and unconscious faults. 21:34 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins, 21:37 let them not have dominion over me! 21:39 Then shall I be blameless, and I shall be innocent 21:42 and clear of great transgression. 21:45 Oh, let the words of my mouth 21:47 and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, 21:51 O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.'' 21:55 You know that's what I love about David. 21:58 His relationship with God was intensely intimate. 22:03 Yet, his approach to God was never flippant. 22:07 He knew as he came before the throne of God 22:11 that he must stand in the glorious presence 22:14 of our heart-searching Lord. 22:17 David desired a blameless conscience before God 22:21 and understood that confession 22:24 is the clearing house of the conscience. 22:27 Why do so many of us have a careless attitude 22:31 regarding our confession of sin? 22:33 We should when possible be specific, 22:38 because this demonstrates that we recognize a wrongdoing 22:42 and we desire to turn away from it. 22:45 Now I don't mean to imply that 22:47 if we cannot remember every transgression, 22:50 all of our past sins and confess each one of them 22:53 individually that God will not forgive us, 22:57 that's not true. 22:59 In these instances David's prayer cleared me 23:02 from hidden and unconscience faults. 23:05 We'll serve as our sincere hearted plea. 23:08 God will hear and forgive 23:11 but it is shallow nonsense to think 23:14 that we can casually confess. 23:17 Oh, Lord, forgive me of my sins, 23:19 I just walked away cleansed. 23:22 If we dare be so presumptuous, 23:25 we seriously underestimate the cost of sin. 23:29 The ideas of mere confession 23:32 without regret for our ungodly behavior 23:35 without the goal of changing our actions is not biblical. 23:41 Let us pause to search our heart 23:43 and to inspect our attitude 23:46 before we approach God's throne of grace. 23:50 Our holy God has a benchmark, 23:55 a benchmark for his behavior 23:59 that is based on foundation of laws 24:02 upon which he bases his government 24:05 and any conduct contrary to his laws, 24:09 carries the penalty of death. 24:11 So I ask, does God forgive us simply 24:15 because He loves us? 24:17 No, such forgiveness would make a mockery of His laws 24:21 and would render Him an unjust judge. 24:25 If God were to waive the penalty of sin 24:28 for the sake of love alone, 24:30 He would violate His own holy standards set in stone. 24:36 Also, he would make a mockery of the cross 24:40 our New Testament altar. 24:42 God forgives us for one reason only 24:46 because His Son Jesus Christ stood in us as our substitute 24:51 and shed His precious blood at Calvary, 24:54 paying the penalty for our redemption from sin. 24:58 The message of the Bible is clear. 25:01 God loves all of mankind unconditionally. 25:05 Still sin demands the punishment of death. 25:09 What more could God have done than to, 25:12 to demonstrate His great love for us 25:16 then by sending His Son to die 25:20 for the sacrifice for our sins. 25:23 He provided the sacrifice for our sins 25:26 while we were yet sinners. 25:29 Forgiveness is offered as a free gift 25:32 to the repentant sinner 25:34 but at a great cost to our Father and our Lord. 25:39 I pray that we will never again 25:43 take a dry eyed look at sin. 25:47 As you come before a holy God 25:50 to confess your sins, count the cost of sin. 25:54 Remember the agony of Calvary 25:57 and cling to the crossed. 25:59 There's no greater miracle, 26:01 no greater grace than the gift of divine forgiveness 26:06 and the gift of salvation. 26:08 And let me tell you something, 26:10 you are worth nothing less to God 26:14 than the unspeakable price that 26:17 He paid for you and for your redemption 26:20 and that price was the precious blood of His own Son. 26:25 God loves you so much 26:27 and I pray that you will reach out to Him 26:31 and just know that you can enter into His gates 26:36 with thanksgiving into His courts with praise 26:39 and just confess your sins before Him. 26:43 This will be the clearing house of your conscience. 26:48 It's something that-- 26:49 it's something that's just too precious. 26:52 Now I hope that you've enjoyed today 26:57 and see that confession of sin-- 26:59 I hope this has just put a whole new light 27:02 on the idea of confessing your sin 27:04 because it's not bad to recognize it. 27:07 It's actually a good thing to recognize 27:10 what sin is so that we can confess it 27:13 and that we can look for forgiveness. 27:16 And that's what our next program is going to be on. 27:20 The next program will be on the grace of forgiveness. 27:25 You know, grace is more than just divine favor. 27:30 Grace is God's supernatural power into salvation. 27:36 Grace is His divine assistance for salvation. 27:40 And He wants to give you the grace of forgiveness 27:44 as you confess your sins. 27:46 So please join us next time 27:49 and I think you're going to enjoy 27:51 that particular teaching. 27:53 Now our time has slipped into eternity, 27:56 it goes by so quickly but my prayer for you, 28:00 our prayer for you is that the grace of our Lord 28:03 and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of the Father 28:07 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 28:09 will be with you today and always. 28:13 Thanks for joining us. |
Revised 2014-12-17