Chico Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“Cleaning the closets / clearing the conscience”
Review
There is no vibrant physical heath without proper diet and exercise. There can be no healthy relationships without practicing the things that build relationships. The things we will explore of the next several weeks are the irreducible minimum elements prescribed by the Lord to acquire, maintain and develop spiritual health. These are things that must become a way of life. Our spiritual health is directly related to the degree we practice these things regularly. 1 Timothy 4:6-10
Discipline and discipleship go hand in hand. We have to stop looking for the short cuts.
There is NO instant spirituality. There is not prayer, no book, no sermon, no spiritual experience, no crash program that will produce spiritual maturity. It takes time, energy, commitment, perseverance, focus. The writer of Hebrews warned about becoming spiritually lazy and dull of hearing. Jesus warned the Ephesian church to return to the deeds they did at first. The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint. Hebrews urges us to run with endurance the race set before us. The first thing we must get settled is time devoted to exercise and time with God. You can no more expect to rise to higher relational levels with God without time and energy than you would expect to improve your marriage relationship without expending time and energy. No instant relational builder. (Events, and break throughs but a life time of growing)
SILENCE AND SOLITUDE
Therefore, the first element is solitude and silence. Only as we become still before God does the muddy waters of our life get clear enough to see clearly.
Moses spent six days alone on the mountain BEFORE God even said one word. Isolating ourselves in solitude and silence from time to time has the as same affect as fasting from caffeine, sugar, chocolate, and carbohydrates and any number of habit forming substances. It quickly reveals how addicted we have become to activity, people, noise, sights and sounds, that we have allowed to over stimulate our physical senses. We discover the shallowness of our relationship with God. When we are left alone with God, we find that our sense of meaning in life really does not come from Christ alone. Rather we have come to depend on activity, other people, noise, stimulation of the senses. These times away enable us to develop our spiritual senses as we seek God and recalibrate. Any attempt to draw close to God must begin with an understanding of who is the boss. We need to regularly evaluate our level of submission.
SUBMISSION
Healthy relationships cannot exist where there is a power struggle. Even though there are roles in marriage, God instructs husband and wife submit to one another. It cannot be about power but service.
CONFESSON
The third element of our twelve habits toward a higher walk with God has to do with another major relationship blocker. Whenever we violate any of the rules of relationship and cause offense to another we create a block to any further development of the relationship. The damage of sin operates from both directions.
God is grieved and offended. We feel guilt and distance. How do you feel when you are in a hurry and are exceeding the speed limit? What is going on inside as you rush along?
You owe someone money and have not yet paid it back. How do you feel around that person? You know that you lost control and launched some hurtful words toward another person. How do you feel around them? How do they feel around you? God programmed a sense of right and wrong in every one of His creatures called conscience. There is a universal sense of good and evil. Over the years man has distorted that intuitive compass.
Man learned to suppress the truth and sear the nudge of their conscience.
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1Ti 1:5 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Act 24:16 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 1Ti 1:19
Any time we disobey God, we suffer the consequences. When we fail to address those offenses, we will encounter any number of repercussions. Listen to King David.
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. Psalms 32:3-4
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Pro 28:13
The first thing Adam did after he violated God’s explicit instruction was to hide and cover. Then he played the blame game. “The woman You gave me!”
Sin gains strength and thrives in the darkness and secrecy. Our sin not only strains our relationship with God but affects every area of our life. There is only one way to clear a defiled conscience. Initially it is the sacrifice of Christ that is able to actually cleanse our heart.
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Heb 9:14
"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19
What about daily offenses? 1 John 1:5-10
All God asks is that we humble acknowledge our sin. Psalms 32:1-7
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. Act 19:19
Every major revival has at least two elements. A renewed understanding of the holiness of God (who’s the boss?) and a deepening realization of our own sinfulness. Every violation of God’s standard (big or small) results in damage to the soul. Stealing a buck or a billion bucks brings the same soul damage; the same violation of the conscience. A violated conscience disrupts the delicate chemical and emotional balance in our system. We must then compensate for that in some way. It is called a defense mechanism. Time does not heal these wounds. Activity does not heal these infections. Compensation does not heal these wounds. Only repentance and exposure to the light (confession) brings lasting healing. Listen to Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 12:20-21
Present public strife stemmed from past personal sin. All of us suffer soul damage from unconfessed sin.
What kind of damage does it create?
Over sensitivity
Guilty conscience
Physical ailments
Mental disorders
Fear
Pride
Spiritual superiority
Hypocrisy
Insensitivity to the hurts of others
Defensiveness
Demonic oppression
Relational disaster
Uncontrolled anger
Double standard
Fleshly focus
Spiritual weakness has a direct relationship to unconfessed sin. James 5:14-16
The purpose of this element is to gain and maintain a clear conscience before God and men. We need to see sin from God’s perspective.
Suggested Exercises
Set aside time daily to address issues.
Set aside a weekly inventory time.
God brings problems areas to light in a number of different ways so pay attention.
Ask for God to expose areas that need to be addressed.
1. Reflect on your relationship with God.
Ask God to open our eyes to any area that has offended Him.
Failure to keep Him the focus of my life.
Pride, selfishness, rebellious attitudes and actions.
Resisting a life of dependence on Him.
Failure to honor Him as the absolute authority in my life.
Seeking life from other people, things, or power. (idolatry)
Ingratitude.
Biblically irresponsible actions i.e. activities God has clearly revealed not to practice.
Neglected Biblical practices. i.e. activities God has clearly revealed to practice.
Failure to consistently pursue relationship with God.
2. Reflect on your relationship with others.
How do I feel around people?
How well am I getting along with people? (Good indicator of spiritual health or sickness)
How do I feel about my spouse or children?
Why do I feel that way?
"If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Mat 5:23-24
Probe both direct offenses as well as the failure to love and respect others as Christ would. Examine the basic offenses in all my relationships both past and present. Examine motives, thoughts, attitudes and actions.
Relationships to explore include:
Parents, spouse, siblings, children, church family, friends, relatives, neighbors, employers/employees, teachers, business deals, authority figures.
Types of offenses to explore include:
Failure to love and accept others as Christ
Selfish manipulation for my own ends
Selfish motivations for "good" deeds
Rebellion against God-ordained authority
Ungratefulness
Unfaithfulness, betray a trust or commitment
Bitterness, unforgiveness, contempt, withdrawal
Cold apathy or neglect
Lying, deceit
Failure to pray when prompted by God or requested by people
Passing on an evil report about someone (gossip, backbiting)
Stealing (time, things, money)
Disrespect, dishonor (failure to honor) by words or actions or attitudes
Pride (thinking I am better than others)
Defrauding (stir up sensual feelings in others that violate God’s design)
Fornication, adultery
Physical or emotional abuse
If there is a barrier between us and someone else, it is usually because we have somehow caused them to feel unsafe around us by our words or actions. Make it a habit to ask those closest to you to help you see any areas that need attention.
“Would you be willing to share any times where you have felt uncomfortable because of my words or actions or attitudes this past week?
If failure to love others impedes my ability to more deeply love God I should invite any opportunity to improve my relationship with others.
3. Reflect on your personal life.
How do I feel about myself today?
What lies have I come to believe about myself?
What fears plague me?
What thoughts and desires fail to pass the Philip 4 test “Whatever is lovely, honest etc.”
What is my current strategy (we all have them) to soothe the unmet longings of my soul?
What habits and behaviors fail to please God?
Pay attention to areas of your heart your Bible reading exposes
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2TI 3:16-17
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. HEB 4:12
Don’t just listen to apply to someone else, or to teach or to gain ammunition or information but listen for its reproof and correction.
Listen to the stories of others for God’s voice.
Listen when people share the struggles in their journey with God. Listen for similar failures in your own life that God may bring to the surface through their story.
Respond to the exhortation of others
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:12-13
Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 1Tim 5:20
"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." Luke 17:3-4
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. Proverbs 27:6
Have you given a close friend permission to bring up areas in your life that need attention?
God may even use our enemies to expose blind spots in our life.
Be open to areas that God wants to address.
Trace overreaction to other’s sin to your own personal struggle. So often the thing I react to most in others is what I myself struggle with. Use your reaction to investigate possible violation of the same principle in you own life.
KEY ELEMENTS IN ACKNOWLEDGING AND CONFESSING SIN
1. BE CLEAR OF SINS GRAVITY AND EFFECT
I must be clear on the gravity and ugliness of my own proud, self-centered attitudes and behavior in God's eyes. I must not self-protectively attempt to justify my behavior, but truly repent before God; recognizing that it is my own sad selfishness that nailed Christ to the cross. I must also come to understand how my sin has deeply affected those around me.
2. REALIZE ALL SINS STEM FIRST FROM REBELLION AGAINST GOD (SIN)
I must acknowledge my rebellious attempt to direct my own life apart from obedient relationship with God that results in specific sinful behavior(s).
3. ADDRESS SPECIFIC KNOWN OFFENSES AS GOD DOES
Only after I have sufficiently addressed number one and two, should I address any specific violation of God’s ways (sins) and voice my agreement with Scripture's depiction of my behavior and attitudes as evil and rebellious.
4. SEEK RESTORED RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND THOSE I HAVE OFFENDED
NOTE: The circle of confession should only extend to the circle of offense. In other words, if I have sinned against God -- confess it to Him; if I have sinned against one person -- confess it to one person; if the nature of my offenses has affected many people -- I make a public confession.
5. MAKE ANY APPROPRIATE RESTITUTION
6. RESUBMIT YOUR MEMBERS AS GOD’S INSTRUMENT AND NOT SATAN’S.
Present all your members (body and soul) for God's exclusive present and future use. Rescind any permission given to the flesh or the devil to use my members for Satan’s purposes.
Any attempt to deal with sin apart from repentance and confession is inadequate.
Excusing, justifying, blaming, minimizing, shifting blame, ignoring, denying do not eradicate the cancerous affects of sin to the soul any more than ignoring cancer will cause it to go away. Only radical removal will rescue our souls from the deadening affect of sin.
To cover it will only strengthen its hold. To expose it to the light of God’s truth and grace will break its hold. Satan would have us ignore it. Satan would have us be afraid to come to God. Remember, it is a throne of grace where we might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Listen to Paul regarding the greatest shame of his life. 1 Tim 1:12-17
Use Biblical passages like psalms 32 or 51
Collect other Biblical confessions like Nehemiah’s prayer in Neh 1.
