This week, we are looking at the message entitled, “The tragedy of covered sin.” One of the most serious verses in the Bible is found in Proverbs chapter 28 verse 13: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Many years ago, a certain man was taken to court and charged with murdering his wife. The only witness against him in court that day was his 14 years old son. The man cried bitterly in the court room to prove that he did not kill his wife but the son insisted that he killed her. The man was sentenced to death, because of the witness of his 14 year old son. Twenty-two years later when the boy had become 36 year old, he surrendered his life to Jesus. That day, he came forward to tell the preacher that he had a confession to make. He told the preacher that 22 years ago, he was the one that killed his own mother and falsely accused his father of the crime and his father was sentenced to death.
The preacher wondered why he was making the confession. But he told him that he preferred to confess it and face the consequences than to lose his salvation. Then the preacher told him to go to the police and report himself. So, he went to the police station and confessed what he had done. He was taken back to court, where he too was sentenced to death. But he died a happy person; he died the death of the righteous (Number 23:10). If he had covered his sin he would not have prospered.
Sin is a fact of life and is the most horrible thing in the universe. In fact, if it was not for the issue of sin, Jesus had no business dying. Sin is so terrible that God had to surrender his own Son as a scapegoat so that He could be dealt with to eliminate sin. That day, where He hung on the cross, the people He came to die for were laughing Him to scorn. So, He had no comfort from those who were watching Him die. His legs were suspended from the ground and His head was not touching heaven. He was suspended in the middle. He turned to His own Father but He refused to answer and He cried out: “My Father, why has thou forsaken me?” God ran away from His own Son because of the horribleness of sin.
Sin is revealed clearly in the Bible. A policeman pursuing a thief is actually pursuing sin. Many times the medicine prescribed by doctors is against sin. The conscience is always condemning sin and God always punishes sin. The Bible says, though hand be joined in hand, no sinner will go unpunished (Proverbs 11:21). Sin is a cheat, a destroyer and a deceiver. The Bible says there is a way that seems right but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12). Sin will promise you pleasure but will pay you back in the coins of pain. Sin will promise you life but will pay you back with the currency of death. Sin will promise you profit but will give you poverty. Sin is dangerous beyond description.
The Bible says sin is a violation of the law of God. Our human society may punish crime but only God can punish sin. When you refuse to conform to the law of God, you are a sinner. There is no small sin. Sin is sin. Sin is missing the mark of God for your life. Sin is when you turn aside from a straight path. Sin is when you are competing with God, that is, when God says this is what to do and you say, “No, in my own opinion this is what I believe is right.” If you have the right to determine what is right or wrong then you have made yourself a god.
Sin is when men overstretch their divine limits. Sin is when you refuse to attain the divine standard God has set for you.
Many people according to the record of God are supposed to be prophets, prophetesses, evangelists and pastors to the nations. They have been born again for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 5 years, but are yet to do what God expects them to do. They are sinners because they have refused to attain that standard He set for them.
Some years ago, a certain brother prayed about his life and the Lord showed him a vision. He said he saw a staircase which led to a high mountain and began to climb it. He stopped at number 3 out of 27. And God said to him, “Look, you have been born again for 12 years, you are expected to have climbed these 27 steps but you are still on level 3. You have one year to readjust your life if not, you will be replaced.” He cried and began to work hard to see what he could do but unfortunately within the next few weeks, he died and that was the end.
God will not leave a vacuum in His programme. If He has placed you somewhere and expects you to perform and you do not, you are calling for replacement. It is sin when you refuse to attain His standard.
Concealment of sin has devastating effects. Any sin that is not confessed or that is excused will certainly invite the anger of a righteous and holy God against a person. The Bible says; “He that covereth his sin shall not prosper.” Many people do not understand what it means to cover up sin. You cover up your sin when you are making excuses. Many people do not take responsibility for their sins rather they blame others. They make excuses, and instead of blaming themselves, they cover up.
You may cover your sin by enveloping it in secrecy. You keep quiet and do not tell anyone about it. You may cover your sin with falsehood like Gehazi and it will lead to trouble. When you use a lie to cover up a lie, you will need another lie to cover up that lie and then you will become a perpetual liar. All liars shall have their place in the bottom of hell fire.
You may cover your sin by shifting the blame to another person. But in whatever way you do it, you may be the one turning back your own prosperity. The Bible says he that covereth his sins shall not prosper but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. When Christians turn away from their sins, confess and forsake them, the power of God will move unhindered.
WHAT DOES CONFESSION MEAN?
Confession means to own up that you are guilty of an offence.
Confession means to reveal, expose, bare, unfold, uncover, or unveil. It also means to acknowledge and to plead guilty.
The folly of indulging in sin and excusing it invites trouble but when you confess your sins, you come nearer to God and get blessed. Anyone who wants to be nearer to God must not cover up anything before Him. Tell Him that innermost desire of your heart that is bad and very terrible. The reason some people are always thinking evil is that they are evil. Such people need to open up to the Lord.
The more you cover up your sin, the farther you go away from God. Do not be an hypocrite. Hypocrites cover up. They smile at people although they hate them. They pretend as if they like the people they hate. Beloved, if you are like that, please repent and open up to God. Some people came to Jesus asking Him about the people who perished and those that walls fell upon. They wanted to find out from Him what sin they committed. Jesus said, “Except you repent, you shall likewise perish” (Luke 13:5).
BENEFITS OF CONFESSION
1. Confession brings you nearer to God. The people the Bible refers to as the friends of God are those who keep very short account with God. Anytime they get into trouble with God, they get on their knees, confess their sins and tell God they are sorry. They ask for forgiveness.
2. Confession of sin makes the power of God to flow into your life.
3. A Great work of grace will come upon you.
4. Confession will turn your captivity into victory. Job chapter 42 verse 10 says, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” When you confess your sin, God will turn your captivity into victory.
5. When you confess your sin, your spiritual battle will become the Lord’s battle.
6. When you confess your sin and you are open to God, you will become a victorious wrestler.
7. When you confess your sin, you will receive deliverance from besetting sins.
8. You will receive both spiritual and physical healing, when you confess your sins.
9. When you confess your sin, the Bible says, you will preserve your soul but when you refuse to confess your sin, pride will move in and destruction will follow. You will be brought down and God will begin to resist you. It will weaken your spiritual life, lead you into falsehood, worldliness and worst of all spiritual and physical poverty.
WHY DO YOU NEED TO CONFESS YOUR SIN AND FORSAKE IT?
You need to confess your sin and forsake it so that you may prosper physically and spiritually. These days, we have a lot of pretenders in the house of God. They claim to repent of their sin, yet they are not genuine. Repentance without restitution is not genuine. If you have stolen what belongs to another person, it is not enough to say, “God forgive me.” You have to return what you have stolen.
Repentance without restitution is not complete. If you have sworn falsely in the past, go back and tell the truth. Do not stop with just saying, "God forgive me." This is where many people are having trouble and this is where deliverance becomes very hard work for the deliverance ministers. If you haven stolen from somebody, return what you have stolen so that God will have mercy on you.
Repentance brings deliverance. No matter the amount of noise you make on the deliverance ground, if you have cleverly hidden sins, nothing will happen. The deliverance minister may not know. The pastor may not know but the evil spirits know that you are hiding something, they will go and hide in that area where you refuse to confess and then trouble will multiply.
No one can see an evil spirit in operation unless there is complete repentance. Complete or true repentance is essential for complete deliverance. If you are not completely repentant, the evil spirits will reenter. When you drop a particular sinful activity in your life, the enemy in that area will no longer have a legal ground to stay or enter into your life. If you have been watching terrible films, the spirit of lust will continue to pursue you. If you have been doing things you cannot tell other people, the strongman will not leave you alone. It will stick to that area of your life, where you are still not repentant.
Ignorance of the principles of deliverance has produced a lot of sorrow. An unrepentant person is a failure in the school of prayer. He is a failure in the school of spiritual warfare.
Hidden and unconfessed sins make one a laughing stock before the enemy. When you still have anger, fornication, bitterness, and evil thoughts in your heart, you cannot ask demons to get out. They will not listen. This is why in this New Year, ensure that you purge yourself and live a holy life. If you know you are playing with sin, repent quickly and run to the Lord, confess those sins and forsake them to avoid trouble.
WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
1. Repentance is total sacrifice and surrender of yourself to God.
2. Repentance is to deny yourself – you take up your cross daily and follow Jesus.
3. Repentance is to come to Jesus with the heart of “I can’t do it on my own.”
4. Repentance is to turn around and go in the opposite direction.
5. Repentance is to change one’s mind.
6. Repentance is to have godly sorrow for sin.
7. Repentance is to put off the old man and put on the new man.
8. Repentance is a complete reversal of your attitude and values.
9. Repentance is to bury your pride.
10. Repentance is hating the bad things you once loved.
11. Repentance is for your spiritual hands to release the filthy objects they are clinging to.
Anybody who goes back to his sin never repented. If he completely repented, he would not go back to it. Unfortunately, many will learn at the gate of hell fire, they will learn the hard way.
Repentance is not the sorrow of a thief who was caught and he got terrified of the consequences. Repentance is not reluctant apology of somebody who has been proved wrong. Repentance is not when you force somebody to apologise. Repentance is not stopping a particular sin because of certain circumstances. Some people stop some bad habits for health reasons not because they are repentant. Feeling sorry alone is not repentance. When you truly repent you hate all your sins. Repentance which does not make you mourn for your sin is counterfeit repentance.
If you are not married according to the word of God, repent. If you are selfish, repent. If you drink and smoke, repent. If you have been born again for years and you are not moving forward in God, repent. If you pray to God and still consult other things, you better repent. If you check your heart and find that it is dark, you better repent. He that covereth his sin shall not prosper but if you confess and forsake them, you shall have mercy. It is good to beg for mercy now than to wait till the day of judgement when these sins are read out and then it will be too late. Talk to the Lord about your life. Do not hide anything. Tell Him about the thoughts of your heart, the kind of words you speak, the kind of places that you go, the things you do and do not want anybody to know. You have the opportunity to call for that mercy now by being open to the Lord. It would be a tragedy if you allow the enemy to waste your life because you refuse to repent. Do not allow the enemy to toy with your destiny. He will toy with it if you are living in any known sin.
Perhaps your heart is a workshop of the enemy, deal with it now. If you have not yet surrendered your life to the Lord and want to do so, say the following prayer: “Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before you today and surrender my life to You. Lord Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life as from today. I renounce the devil and his works, in Jesus' name. O Lord, wash me with your blood. Thank you Father Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Bible says He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. But what can make Him to sleep or slumber on behalf of a person is when the person covers his sin. Open up to God today.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Satan, you will not write my name in your book, my name will be in the book of life, in Jesus’ name.
2. Strangers hiding in my heart, scatter, in the name of Jesus.
3. Every internal warfare fashioned to destroy me, die, in the name of Jesus.
4. My Father, have mercy on me, in the name of Jesus.
5. My Father, wherever I have failed you, help me Lord, in the name of Jesus.
