Post by Forgiven (Mick) on Oct 27, 2007 20:24:04 GMT -5
Do any of you remember playing with an Etch-A-Sketch when you were a kid? I do! What I remember most is that you could sketch your name, a house, or what ever your imagination would come up with. The best part tho, was when I messed up the masterpiece, I just turned it over and shook it good and hard, and like magic I could start all over with a clean slate.
In real life we goof up alot and the only way to get a clean slate is to confess our sins.
What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. Psalm 32: 1-2"
Why do we need to confess?
1. Guilt destroys our confidence
2. Guilt damages our relationships
3. Guilt keeps us stuck in the past ( I've been stuck here alot)
We need to take a personal examination of our selfs.
"Let us examine our ways and test them..." Lamentations 3:40
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad..." Psalm 139:23-=24
We need to accept responsibility for our faults.
"The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his immost beingl." Proverbs 20:27
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:18
We need to ask God for Forgiveness.
"If we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable...he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil." 1 John 1:9
We need to admit our faults to another person.
"Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed..."James 5:16
We need to accept God's forgiveness and forgive ourselves.
"All of us have sinned....yet God declares us not guilty if we trust in Jesus Christ, who freely takes away our sins." Romans 3:23-24
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...
" Romans 8:1
Conclusion:Confession means that you stop deluding yourself, you stop excusing yourself, you stop justifying yourself-and you come clean about how you are to yourself, God and someone you trust.
I think we all need to come CLEAN!
In real life we goof up alot and the only way to get a clean slate is to confess our sins.
What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. Psalm 32: 1-2"
Why do we need to confess?
1. Guilt destroys our confidence
2. Guilt damages our relationships
3. Guilt keeps us stuck in the past ( I've been stuck here alot)
We need to take a personal examination of our selfs.
"Let us examine our ways and test them..." Lamentations 3:40
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad..." Psalm 139:23-=24
We need to accept responsibility for our faults.
"The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his immost beingl." Proverbs 20:27
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:18
We need to ask God for Forgiveness.
"If we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable...he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil." 1 John 1:9
We need to admit our faults to another person.
"Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed..."James 5:16
We need to accept God's forgiveness and forgive ourselves.
"All of us have sinned....yet God declares us not guilty if we trust in Jesus Christ, who freely takes away our sins." Romans 3:23-24
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...
" Romans 8:1
Conclusion:Confession means that you stop deluding yourself, you stop excusing yourself, you stop justifying yourself-and you come clean about how you are to yourself, God and someone you trust.
I think we all need to come CLEAN!