Week 3 - Confession

'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12

We learned in the Lord's prayer that we are to forgive others AS God forgives us. If we don't, God will not forgive us of our sins. That can be hard to take, especially if you've been carrying around a grudge for someone.

"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Matthew 6:14-15

We've been running from sin from the start of humankind. It began with Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:1-24)

God had a plan from that day to bring His children back to Him. He gave them the ritual of sacrifice, which was a picture of what was to come.

"When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send {it} away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who {stands} in readiness. "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:20-22

So the term "scapegoat" actually comes from the Bible. The rituals where just that--something they did repeatedly. The Law of Moses (10 Commandments) was the standard they had to try to reach for, and they fell short all the time.

With Abraham He spoke loud and clear about what His plan was. Let's read this famous story and really listen to the emotion. Something to remember about this scene: Abraham was in his 100's, and the "lad" was not a child but a teen or young adult. Read Genesis 22:3-17

God was even then showing His children what was to come--an ultimate sacrifice, something that would end all sacrifices.

What kind of sin will separate you from God? All sin. God is not human, He does not compare sins. He sees all sin as the same thing--something that separates Him from His children. In God's eyes, my sin is the same as some soul sitting on death row. There are no grey areas, no lesser sin.
Let's hear how the Israelites got into hot water with God.

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food." The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery {serpent,} and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21:4-9

Notice that the serpents still came and bit people, but looking onto the bronze serpent would keep them from dying. If you look at the symbol for medical doctor, a caduceus, you will see this same symbol.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:14-17

See the symbolism again? Jesus was lifted up on a pole. All we have to do is look to Him and believe, and we are saved from death. With Jesus we still have pain in this world, but at least we won't die now. We have eternal life with Him.

Did you know that sin affects us physically? I know in my own life that most of my back problems flared when I was "carrying" something too heavy. I should've given it over to Jesus to carry. But instead I figured I could handle it, He's got enough to worry about and --ping-- out my back would go and I'd be down for a couple days.

How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 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. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Psalms 32:1-5

Living every day with unconfessed sin can also weigh you down with anxiety. The fear of "what if?" pounds on your mind all day. Some develop anxiety attacks complete with chest pain, breathing problems and cold sweat. There is relief in confession...God already knows. It's time to unburden your soul my friend.

For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalms 38:18

Unforgiven sin can paralyze--physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over {the sea} and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This {fellow} blasphemes." And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He *said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw {this,} they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Matthew 9:1-8

Note that Jesus did not zero in on the man's illness. He saw straight through to the guy's heart and knew the issue. He had unforgiven sin that needed to be taken care of. Jesus did a spiritual CAT scan and knew it wasn't illness, but a sin-sickness. His friends knew something was wrong and did everything they could to get the man to Jesus for healing.

Confession purges the soul and releases healing. I do believe that when there is illness, we need to start with our "heart" and do business with confession. I suggest an accountability partner, someone who will not judge you and will not gossip about you. They will stand with you in prayer and do battle with you. They help with the heavy load. Once you confess, they are there to hold you accountable. It's one thing to have a secret sin that no one knows about, but to have someone who meets you for coffee, looks you in the eye and says, "So how is that working for you?" No wonder Dr. Phil is so popular!

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16

We must be watchful, the enemy is always looking for a way to pull us into sin. Check your pride, that is his favorite way to mislead.

Pride {goes} before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. Proverbs 16:18

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity {of devotion} to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

In the book of James, there are clear steps how sin progresses in someone's life.

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:13-15

You can be tempted and not sin. You have a choice. Ruth Bell Graham says it's two sides of the same coin. You can look at the incident as either a temptation and fall, or a trial and get stronger. An alcoholic at a party being offered a drink is temptation. Them turning it down and asking for club soda is turning the temptation around and growing stronger.

So in forgiving others, is there a limit?

Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus *said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22

Carolyn made an interesting point--7 times, 7 days a week. So not only are we to forgive our brother every day, but forgive him 70 times a day!

"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Luke 17:3

Why should you care about someone else who has sinned?

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20

How should we go about doing this? Scripture maps this out plainly.

"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. "But if he does not listen {to you,} take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Matthew 18:15-17

Beware of being judgmental!

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5

The most important reason for confessing our sin is because sin separates us from a relationship with God. If you wonder why God isn't doing anything after you've prayed and prayed, it's because we've hit the mute button when we have unconfessed sin!

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden {His} face from you so that He does not hear. Isaiah 59:2

"We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. John 9:31

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Why does He forgive us? What reason would He have to forgive us over and over? Jesus. This week please take time to meditate on Romans 5:6-21. Write in your prayer journal about this passage. What is God saying to you?

The ultimate sacrifice that God foreshadowed with Moses came to pass with Jesus. There was no ram in the thornbush to be substituted at the last moment. God gave His son willingly, unconditionally, while we were sinners.

When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they {began} saying, "Behold, He is calling for Elijah." Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down." And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" Mark 15:33-39

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace Ephesians 1:7

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for {those of} the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2

God is the loving Father, He is calling us to repent, confess and receive His forgiveness. What's the alternative?

'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep {it,} and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Revelation 3:3

'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:19

'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. Revelation 2:5

It's not a pretty picture for those who refuse to repent of their sin. God tells us what will happen in Revelation 16:1-21. He warns us because He loves us and wants us to return to Him. He provided the way through His son, Jesus. Why take a chance with eternity?

This study was not to guilt you into action. I am asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you. If you feel convicted, don't waste another second. Below is an example of a prayer of repentance. Write one in your own words, make it personal. Detail specific instances of sin in your life. God already knows what you've done, He wants to hear from you. He wants to see you make a U turn in your life. This opens communication between you and God. Your prayers are not hindered, and healing can begin.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

Week 2

In our study of the Lord's Prayer, we noticed that the meat of the prayer was sandwiched in praise. At the start and end there was genuine praise to God, there was thankfulness, and recognition. Praise means “to commend or magnify."

How do you feel when someone genuinely praises you? Did you love getting praise from your mom or dad? How about your favorite teacher? What did praise do for your outlook for the day?

Do you use praise during your day? Have you really given a person who crosses your path daily some real praise? If you have, how did it affect them? If you haven't, that's your next assignment. Try handing out a taste of praise to someone this week. Report back what happens.

In the Old Testament, God showed up during praise. In the temple: 2 Chronicles 5:11-14, and on the battlefield: 2 Chronicles 20:22.

Can you imagine being in a battle and your enemy sends music out ahead of the soldiers? Numerous battles through the history records the use of bagpipes during skirmishes. The sound of the bagpipe carries around 6 miles. The pipes could actually be heard above the noise of battle. The Great Highland Bagpipe is the only musical instrument ever to be banned as a weapon. The music today still sends a thrill through a crowd...could this be the type of "joyful noise" the book of Psalms speaks of?

God inhabits the praise of His people. You want to get closer to God? Try praising Him and see how He shows up.

The Psalms are full of praise songs--in fact many of today's Christian praise and worship songs come from the verses in Psalms.

Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. Ps 30:4 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Ps 34:1 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD. Ps 40:3 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Ps 104:33 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Ps 150:6

When I've had a particularly bad day, I get out my most crazy praise CD and pop it in. It doesn't take long before my toes are tapping and my pity party turns into a praise party. Why? Because my focus is off of my self and on the One who can make a difference! Job knew this tactic very well.

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Job 13:15a

Even when I don't feel good, praise helps.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. Ps 139:14

In the New Testament there is the phrase, "sacrifice of praise". What do you think that means?

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Heb 13:15

We no longer offer burnt sacrifices to God. What He desires is not a ram on the altar. He wants your heart--not swelled with pride but humbled and ready to be molded.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Ps 51:17

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, {which is} your spiritual service of worship. Ro 12:1

What happens when we praise God in the midst of our struggles? Let's look at Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-34.

There is power in praise. Not only can we change our outlook, we can break the chains of bondage to sin, temptation and strongholds.

It's inevitable. Jesus will be coming back one day. The Bible promises:

For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD." Ro 14:11

Does God depend on my praise? No. He does want to include you in the party though. If you don't add your voice to the universal choir, don't be surprised when the rocks start singing.

As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: "BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" Luke 19:36-40

In Revelation 19:5-7 there is a picture of eternal praise. Think about it. Praising God now is like choir practice.

Scriptures on Praise

1. Make sure it is genuine! Matthew 15:8
2. Praise can be quiet. Psalms 4:3-5, 46:10
3. Praise can be loud and noisy. Psalms 33:3, 95:1-6, 98:4
4. Praise doesn't have to be purely musical. Psalms 47:1
5. It's ok to dance and move to praise God! Ps 150:4, 134:2

This week, I'd like you to try starting your day with praise to God. Pick one of the Psalms of praise and read it out loud. Don't just read it to yourself. Read it out loud and let your ears hear it. As you read each line, listen to the words, get caught up in the praise party and notice what a difference a day with praise makes!

What is Prayer?

Welcome to our new summer study on prayer. All summer we'll be digging in our Bibles and finding out how to pray, what to pray and why we pray. If you are interested in this study, don't worry that you missed anything. We will have attendees who may need to be away for vacation or tend to summer visitors, so jump in when you can! This study is structured to invite lots of conversation, debate and study of God's word. One thing I hope is that our group will bring a lot of info to the table that God has revealed through His word, a sermon, articles or independent study. The only required book for this study is your Bible.

If you are interested, I will have information on building a prayer notebook. Bring a 3 ring binder with either notebook paper or a spiral and 3 tabs.

May God open our eyes to the amazing miracle of prayer. May we see how much He loves us by blessing our reaching out to Him in prayer. In Jesus name, amen!

What is prayer? We had several definitions; conversation with God, listening to God, talking to Him with our mind...we could've gone on and on. The dictionary said it is "a spiritual communion (fellowship) with God."

Let's have a reminder of just who are God is. Isaiah 6:1-5 is a description of God in heaven. If you'd like to see what God says about Himself, check out Job 38-41. To read those chapters is a humbling experience.

Daily prayer trains us to turn to God in all our circumstances. As we develop that habit, our relationship grows. We learn He is faithful and worthy of our trust.

Much like a baby learns to trust the parent through daily care: feeding time, soothing a sore tummy, changing diapers, answering a cry in the middle of the night, the child learns the parent is trustworthy. So when larger problems loom as they grow--they come to the parent for help, advice or comfort.

If you had a difficult relationship with your parent, then learning to trust in your Heavenly Father will be one of the goals of this class for you.

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

Romans 8:26-27 says that the holy Spirit lives in believers, not unbelievers. We communicate to God by the Holy Spirit. Consider your soul for a moment; have you ever made a decision to follow Christ? That will be the most important prayer you can ever pray. Let's take care of that right now!

Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you have opened the communication lines between you and God. As a disciple, we need to start with the basics. Let's look at how Jesus taught His first disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

"Pray, then, in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen]"

Jesus didn't say to pray these words every time, He said to "pray in this way". This is a structure for your prayers. Notice how it is a few requests sandwiched between praise statements. Keep that in mind while we walk thru this word by word.

Take that first word, "our". That is huge. Remember who is saying this word. It's Jesus. And He's saying "our", not "my". So what does that say about the speaker? That means He's sharing something with us. He's sharing that next word: Father. "Our Father"...not "my father". Wrap your brain around that one for a minute--He's saying "our father"! Then that must mean Jesus is my brother and I am His sister. In my prayers I need to realize that I am already a daughter of the King of the universe. And if I am God's daughter, how much more will I not just have His ear, but His unconditional love as well!

"who is in heaven"--this phrase along with the next phrase, "Hallowed be Your name" acknowledges His deity. Hallowed means holy. We're telling God we know who He is and where He's coming from.

"Your kingdom come" We encourage God not to tarry when He returns again to earth.

"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We are asking God to do His will in our lives as much as He does His will in heaven.

"Give us this day our daily bread." We need to remember to ask God for the simple things like food or sustenance. Even the "daily bread" of His word as we read the Bible.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." A lot of people rush through this part because of a two-letter word: AS. We are not to forgive those who have hurt us after God forgives us. We are to forgive them as He forgives us. The verse after this prayer explains this a bit more: "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." That little word "as" is a comfort to me. Much like someone holding my hand as we jump off the high dive together, I know I'm not doing this forgiveness thing alone.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." There is one who tempts us, deceives us and lies to us. That is not God. God opens the escape hatch and delivers us from the evil one. We need to remind ourselves of that fact in prayer every day.

"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." The praise closes this simple prayer and adds a punch to the enemy. We know how all this ends up, and God wins in the end.

What I'd like for our group to do is write their own prayer by using this structure. Write the Lord's prayer in your own words. Personalize it. Get used to this structure as you seek quiet time with God.

We'll be back together Wednesday evening to share how this simple prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples affected our prayer time this week.

May God reveal His love for you as you seek His face.