Confession                       Come with me to a quiet place                3/3/24

What if there was a place so secure that your identity in God was unshakable. What if there was a place so safe that you could tell God your most grievous sins and it would be met with an overwhelming mercy. What if there was a place you could go where there was power available to you that would allow you to withstand any trial, situation or circumstance. What if there was a place you could go where you could experience the tangible presence of God. Would you go there? - Jon Tyson

Confession is a door to the Secret Place

Confession?

1 John 1:5-10 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Confession is telling the truth.

Confession never goes unanswered.

God always responds with mercy. 

Confess not just sins we are guilty of, but sins that we are victims of.

Sin is the great disease of our world.

Sin is not less than our behaviors, but it is more than our behaviors

 Why don’t we confess more often?

Genesis 3:6-10 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

“If I feel then I will need”

Where do we go with our needs?

We have been given a lie that in order to be loved, desired or accepted

we must fix ourselves. 

Matthew 5:3-7 Jesus said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Confession is telling the truth about who I am and who God is.

It is answering the question "where are you?” 

"Some of us learned in our families, both biological and spiritual, that confession hands [a weapon] to those that would harm us. Confessing inherently means exposing weakness, and thus we could potentially lose admiration, respect, love, acceptance, or control."

We hide because we have bought the lie that

God will use our confession as a weapon against us.

 The power of sin is only to kill, to drive us away from God.

But that power is taken away in Christ. 

2 Corinthians 15:54-56 “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:20-21 But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 8:1-4 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

John 10:28-30 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Romans 8:35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 … 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 32 1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. 6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. "8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you." 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Confession does not change our citizenship or standing before God.

Confession never goes unanswered from God. He always responds with mercy.

Confession is normative for followers of Jesus. We become needier not self sufficient 

4 Questions For Discovering Gospel Fruit:

1. Who is God?

2. What has God done?

3. Who am I in light of God’s work?

4. How should I live in light of who I am?

4 Questions For Discovering the lies we believe:

1. What am I experiencing or doing?

2. What do I believe about myself in light of my experience or actions?

3. What do I believe God has done or not done?

4. What do I believe God is like?