“The Power of Confession”
2 Chronicles 6 & 7
Intro: This morning we want to talk about confession. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the hospital this week. Funny things can happen in hospitals. One of my favorite stories is about the time the Pastor Dan went to visit Mrs. Johnson. Now, Mrs. Johnson was elderly, and was recovering from surgery. As Pastor Dan visited with her, he looked over and saw some peanuts. Now, Dan just loved peanuts. And he hadn’t eaten anything all day. So, as Mrs. Johnson went on and on talking about her family, Dan reached down and slipped a few peanuts into his mouth. Mrs. Johnson went on to tell about her time as a schoolteacher, and Dan slipped a few more peanuts. About halfway into her telling him about her petunias, Dan had finished off the bowl of peanuts. Now, Dan felt might bad about this. He knew he should say something, but he was just too embarrassed. He was getting ready to leave, and before he left he said, “Mrs. Johnson, I’ve got a confession to make. I saw your peanuts there, ad I couldn’t help myself. I’m afraid I’ve eaten the whol bowl of them.” Oh, that’s okay, Mrs. Johnson replied, I know just how you feel. I love them too! The only problem is that anymore with my false teeth, I can’t eat them; I’m afraid the only thing I can do is to such the chocolate off them.
Sometimes, we find out more than we want to know when it comes time for a confession! Yet, confession is a very important part of our lives. Let’s read in the book of 2 Chronicles about confession. -2 Chr. 6:1-3, 14-31, 7:1-3, 11-22
God is seen here as he inhabits the temple as a God of power and might. He is good, and all that he does is good. And he is a God who looks ahead to the future. As all the people come to worship, God plans ahead for their failure. Does God want them to fail, NO! But he knows they will. And when they do, God makes provision for forgiveness and restoration. It is found in a process called “confession.”
I. What is confession?
In the Bible, confession can be seen both in the sense of affirming truth, such as Rom. 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It is also used in the sense of confession of sin.
When there is confession, God is praised, sin is acknowledged, and faith is declared.
In the NT, the idea is that of “saying the same thing” - that we admit that our sin is just as bad as God says it is.
There are some people who have a hard time with that. Brother Frank came up to the pastor one day and admitted, “I’m having a hard time preacher. I tend to stretch the truth a little bit.” The pastor said, “Oh, I can help you with that. Let’s pray about it together.” They knelt together and Frank said, “Lord, I’ve got a little difficulty in stretching things a little.” HOLD it right there, the preacher said, “Why don’t you just tell the Lord you’ve been sinning by lying?!” We like to call sin anything but sin.
*Confession begins by calling sin as it really is
*confession involves seeing ourselves as we really are
Pharisee/Publican - Luke 18
"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
*confession also involves seeing God as He really is
Is. 6 - In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Rev. 4 - Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
II. Why Confession?
We live in an age where few people confess - they just don’t like to admit the truth. Even when they do wrong, they just say, “Let’s forget about it” and go on. There is great power in confession.
*Confession helps us realize the truth - it is an Admission of the truth.
Remember the story of the Emperor’s new clothes? Everyone already knew he was naked, but the Emperor refused to believe that the others were looking at him. He believed he had beautiful clothes. We can convince ourselves of anything! It doesn’t matter what we believe though, it matters what the truth is!
*Confession releases us of guilt - Ps. 32:1-5
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah 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. Selah
If we don’t confess, we will carry an oppressive weight of guilt. It will affect us physically!
*Confession shows our reliance on the Lord
When we confess, we admit that God’s way is best. It is easy for us to keep trying our own way.
Elk hunters - 6 elk - pilot only take 4 - same size plane last year - ok - crash - 2 miles last yr
*confession restores our relationship to God
Sin separates us from God. Confession renews our relationship.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--
*confession is the first step to bring about change
without confession, we never really are motivated to change. Until we admit how horrible our sin is, we are content to continue on in it.
Dark night - open grave - man fell in - not get out - slept - another - It’s no use, not out - but did
III. Steps in Confession
2 Chr. 7:14 - is one of the best known verses in Chronicles.
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
*Attitude - humble - not thinking highly of self - there is no sin that any one of us could not commit under the right circumstances. Let’s not think ourselves better than others.
*Admission - prayer - not just knowing the truth, but admitting it to God
*Action - seek his face - find forgiveness in the presence of God. Not just a simple prayer, but the renewing power of relationship.
*Adjustment - turn from wicked ways - don’t continue in them
--confessional - steal lumber - how much - deep penance - consider retreat? No, get lumber!
**What happens when we confess? God hears, forgives, heals.
We have two choices when we look at our sin. Confession or denial.
Confession brings blessing - look at 2 CHR. 7:17 - As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, `You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’
Denial brings curses - 7:19 - "But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple which I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, `Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, `Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshipping and serving them--that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’"
James 5:16 says Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
We need to confess our sins to God for restoration of fellowship.
We need to confess to one another to find help in accountability in making sure true change takes place.
Are you willing to let confession bring cleansing and blessing to your life?
