Participants: Eric Garloff, Teresa Garloff
Series Code: WWJ
Program Code: WWJ000004
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00:14 Hello, I'm Eric Garloff, your host for Walking With Jesus.
00:18 This is our fourth program in this series of thirteen, 00:21 and we pray you'll be able to watch them all. 00:23 Today we're answering the question, If God knows 00:27 everything about us, He also knows our sins. 00:30 So why then do we need to confess our sins to God? 00:34 Well, the short answer is found in Proverbs 28:13 which says, 00:39 He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but everyone who 00:42 confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy. 00:45 Now, as I said, this is the short answer, 00:49 but we're going to dig a little deeper into this question 00:51 and uncover some nuggets of truth, which will greatly help 00:54 you in your walk with Jesus. 00:56 Now, let's begin our session today with a word of prayer, 01:00 shall we? 01:01 Lord God, we come to You today and ask that You would give us 01:06 Your Holy Spirit to open our minds to this message. 01:10 And if need be, subdue our hearts and our ego, 01:13 that we would be found walking in Your ways, and living a life 01:18 filled with Your peace, joy, and happiness. 01:21 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 01:25 Alright, let's get started, shall we? 01:27 Do you know that there is a time to confess our faults 01:31 to one another, as well as a time to confess our sins to God? 01:34 If you've done harm to your neighbor, or your friend, 01:38 you should confess your fault to him or her, and ask for his 01:41 or her forgiveness. 01:42 It is then your neighbor's duty to freely forgive you. 01:45 The Apostle James wrote in James 5:16 the following: 01:58 So not only are we to confess our faults to one another, 02:00 but we are also told to pray for one another. 02:04 Once you've made things right between you and your neighbor, 02:07 you're then counseled to seek God's forgiveness 02:10 for your own sin. 02:11 For in hurting your neighbor, you have also injured 02:15 your neighbor's Creator. 02:16 Your neighbor can forgive your faults, but only God 02:21 can forgive your sin. 02:22 In the book, Steps to Christ, page 24 we read the following: 03:03 True confession is always of a specific character 03:06 and acknowledges particular sins. 03:08 They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only. 03:13 They may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals 03:16 who have suffered injury through them. 03:19 Or they may be of a public character and should then 03:22 be publicly confessed. 03:24 But all confession should be definite and to the point, 03:28 acknowledging the very sin's of which you are guilty. 03:33 Now that gives you something to think about, and it does make 03:36 sense, doesn't it? 03:37 After all, if the shoe was on the other foot, if someone did 03:41 something to hurt you, you'd want that person to come to you 03:44 and admit what they had done, wouldn't you? 03:46 Of course you would! 03:48 So we should be mindful to how we ourselves would like to be 03:54 treated if someone did something against us. 03:56 If you keep this principle in mind throughout your walk 04:00 with Jesus, it will prove to be a tremendous spiritual blessing 04:04 to you. 04:05 Let me share an illustration with you of something that I 04:09 had done when I was sixteen years old. 04:11 It all started out with a propensity to drive fast, 04:15 and to hang out with my buddies who drove fast cars. 04:19 I had a rather small car with a large engine, and I liked to 04:23 drive fast on the back country roads where I grew up. 04:26 I remember one turn that I used to make at 60 miles an hour. 04:30 I'd say it was about a seventy-five degree turn 04:33 with a tight radius. 04:34 And when I went around the turn, my tires would squeal 04:37 on the asphalt, or on the street. 04:39 That was a sign to me that if I went any faster the back of my 04:44 car just might start skidding out and cause me to crash. 04:47 Well, about half a mile farther down the road from where 04:51 this turn was, was another turn which was quite gradual 04:56 and non-threatening. 04:57 Or so I thought! 04:58 Anyway, it was dark and I was driving much faster than anyone 05:04 should have been driving. 05:05 And as I entered this turn my car hit some small gravel stones 05:09 along the edge of the road. 05:10 Those stones caused the back of my car to skid out. 05:14 Now the front of my car pretty much stayed on the road. 05:18 I was really side ways though. 05:20 The back of the car was skidding out across the entrance 05:23 to a driveway, and it was coming around to my right. 05:27 Then all of a sudden I heard a loud crashing noise as my car 05:30 hit something. 05:31 It felt very solid. 05:35 In the dark, and out of the corner of my eye, I thought 05:38 I saw something being thrown up into the yard. 05:40 At the same time, the impact of hitting whatever it was that I 05:44 hit actually threw my car back towards the road. 05:47 As I was trying to gain control over the car, I could feel a 05:51 sense of fear and anger coming over me. 05:53 Fear for not knowing what it was that I had hit, and for what my 05:58 father was going to say in the morning when he saw my car, 06:01 and anger because I was driving so carelessly, and there was 06:05 no one else to blame but myself. 06:08 I didn't stop right away because my car was still going about 06:10 50 miles an hour after I got back onto the road. 06:14 So when I got down the road about a mile or so, I found a 06:17 place that I could pull over and I took a good look at my car. 06:20 When I saw the damage that was done to it, my thoughts began to 06:24 to turn away from the car, and I began thinking about what had 06:27 just happened. 06:29 What was it that I really hit? 06:30 Then my heart started pounding all over again. 06:33 Then I started to fear for another reason. 06:35 I was contemplating the possibility that someone could 06:38 have been walking at night, and perhaps I hit them. 06:41 When this came across my mind, I knew that I had to go back 06:45 there immediately and see what it was that I hit. 06:48 If it was a person, then they would need help immediately, 06:52 but then again I'd already lost a lot of critical time 06:56 looking at my car. 06:57 So I went back to the scene of the accident, and my heart was 07:01 thumping in my chest. 07:02 I was trying to see what was lying in the front yard. 07:06 And as I'm approaching, I'm saying, What is it? 07:09 Was it a person or was it something else? 07:11 It was hard to see in the dark. 07:14 Then as I approached I saw something, but I didn't quite 07:18 know until I got closer. 07:20 Finally I could see well enough to determine it wasn't a person. 07:25 It was a demolished mail box! 07:27 This was no ordinary mail box because it was mounted on a 07:31 steel I-beam, and it had been cemented into the ground with 07:34 about 120 pounds of cement. 07:36 That's why the impact was so great against the car. 07:39 I went home that night, and the next day, after telling my 07:42 parents what had happened, I went back to that house and I 07:45 knocked on the door. 07:47 I told the owners that it was I who destroyed their mail box. 07:51 I asked them to forgive me and I offered to pay for the damages. 07:55 The man of the house said that he was planning on going out and 07:59 building a new mail box, and in addition to paying for it, 08:02 I could help him make it as well. 08:04 You know, admitting that I did wrong and correcting what I had 08:08 done made me feel good inside. 08:11 Not good that I did it, but good that I corrected it. 08:14 If I hadn't done that I'd still be living with the guilt today 08:17 of what I had done. 08:18 And a life of guilt is a life of regrets, not to mention the 08:22 negative health impact that guilt brings also. 08:26 In order for confession to be acceptable unto God, 08:28 one must show repentance and make decided changes in his, 08:32 or her, life. 08:33 We should seek to purge from our lives everything which is 08:36 offensive to God. 08:37 Indeed, these will be the actions of a repentant sinner. 08:41 To seek and correct anything known to be wrong within 08:44 the character, and to make amends wherever possible. 08:48 Now Ezekiel 33:15 puts it this way: 09:04 Now isn't that good news? 09:06 Turning once again to the book, Steps to Christ, page 25, 09:09 we read the following: 10:24 In other words, Eve was saying to God, Why did you make 10:27 the serpent? 10:28 Why did you allow him into the garden? as if He were 10:32 responsible for her sin. 10:36 Now I'll tell you what's truly amazing about confession, 10:39 and it's found in John 1:9 which says, If we confess our sins 10:43 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 10:45 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10:47 The one thing you can count on, my friend, is that God says 10:52 what he means, and He means what He says. 10:54 Let me say it again, God says if we confess our sins, 10:59 He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, 11:01 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 11:04 Isn't that a wonderful promise? 11:06 If we confess, He will forgive and cleanse us. 11:10 That means we don't have to walk around with the guilt on our 11:14 shoulders anymore. 11:15 We can be free from its burden, and not worry about it again. 11:19 Amen? 11:20 This brings us back to the original question that we had 11:24 asked in the beginning of this program. 11:26 You remember it, don't you? 11:28 We asked, If God knows everything about us, 11:31 then why do we need to confess our sins to Him? 11:33 Well, the short answer in Proverbs 28:13 gives us the 11:38 answer that we're looking for. 11:46 So our confession opens the door for God's mercy. 11:50 Unconfessed sin becomes a stumbling block to us. 11:54 It burdens us down, and it separates us from God. 12:00 And if we don't have God's mercy then how shall we live with Him? 12:05 Through a confession, God's mercy is extended to us, 12:08 and we are forgiven. 12:09 The burden of our guilt is removed. 12:11 Confession is like medicine to our soul. 12:14 It brings health and healing of spirit. 12:17 God wants us to confess, not for His benefit, but for ours. 12:21 He wants us to confess our sins so we can have forgiveness 12:26 of our past, fellowship with Him in the present, and everlasting 12:30 life with Him in the future. 12:32 What about you my friend? 12:34 Are there things in your past which you know you've done 12:38 that, perhaps, you have not confessed before? 12:40 Is there something that you did which needs to be set straight? 12:44 Is there some burden that's been weighing you down? 12:48 Do you feel the guilt constantly nagging at you, prompting you to 12:53 make amends? 12:54 If you have any of these thoughts or feelings, 12:57 then I would like to suggest to you that it's the Holy Spirit of 13:00 God bringing these things to your memory, giving you the 13:03 opportunity to confess them, and as best as you can 13:08 make restitution for them. 13:09 God really does have your best interest on His heart. 13:12 He wants to spend eternity with you in heaven. 13:16 And while you're here on this Earth, He wants you to live 13:19 a healthy and happy life. 13:21 God does not want us to be bound down by the burdens 13:24 which tie us down due to our unconfessed sin. 13:27 Therefore, as we close this program, I ask you to pray about 13:32 these things, and give them to God. 13:35 Your burden will be lifted, and you'll feel so much better 13:39 about them. 13:40 Follow that still small voice speaking to your conscience, 13:45 and do the right thing. 13:46 Confess your faults one to another, and confess your sins 13:50 to God, for only He can forgive them. 13:54 May God bless you and your loved ones. 13:58 Growing in your walk with Jesus is very important, 14:01 so we ask you to read your Bible every day, and practice what 14:05 you learn on a daily basis. 14:08 Watch Walking With Jesus again for our next episode, 14:12 The Consecrated Life. |
Revised 2014-12-17